


Unexpected

by Edele Lane (Edyn04)



Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, World of Warcraft
Genre: Actual Sylvaina will be coming soon, Angst, Blizzard sucks at writing Sylvanas, Blizzard sucks at writing a lot of things actually, Enemies to Allies, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fuck 8.1.5, Hints of Anduin/Taelia, I'm Horde but I love Jaina so fucking much, Masturbation, Post-B.O.D., SOMEBODY KISS SOMEBODY, Slow Burn, Smut, There’s actually more hints of Sylvaina now, Useless Lesbians, Yes you can interpret that exactly how you want, ahem
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-04 19:43:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18350432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edyn04/pseuds/Edele%20Lane
Summary: Sylvanas Windrunner is under the control of the current Lich King. When she feels his power waning, she seeks out the most unlikely person to assist her in freeing herself from his control once and for all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hi.
> 
> About a couple weeks ago, when I was suffering from writer's block trying to get through _The Promise_ , an idea came to me about Sylvanas being controlled by Bolvar and I wanted to explore it. Truthfully, it's something that I've been wondering about for a while and I'm hoping Blizzard addresses at some point, because bringing Bolvar back in Legion and BfA can't be a coincidence. There has to be something going on there that we don't yet know about. Of course, this is Blizzard, so who tf knows what they're doing at this point. The new Ion interviews didn't exactly give me hope that anyone knows what's going on.
> 
> In any case, this fic is my take on what could possibly be going on. It took a bit for me to fully explore what I wanted to do, as when I began the fic, I wrote a few paragraphs and then set it aside, trying to figure out exactly how I wanted it to go. I think I settled on a decent little story, but do let me know if I'm mistaken. <3
> 
> Just a note, if you're familiar with my other stuff, you know I write a bunch of Sylvaina smut because it's hot af and of course, I'm going to write it. This is my first WoW fic experimenting with the two of them mostly acting as they are in-game, as in, enemies at worst and mere acquaintances at best, and then exploring from there. It’s been a nice change of pace from the sweet fluffy stuff I've been writing recently. Not that there's anything wrong with fluff, I love it dearly, but exploring angsty stuff is super fun.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Nice place you have.”

Jaina froze at the voice behind her. It was lilting and almost sweet. She swallowed hard and clenched a fist, a freezing spell ready to be unleashed. She whirled around and extended her hand in a flash, firing in the direction of the voice.

“Dammit!” Jaina yelled. Her spell hit the wall missing her target by inches.

There was a laugh, an awful, mocking laugh that made Jaina’s shoulders tense. Then, suddenly, that laugh was behind her, the person it belonged to fading in, one arm wrapped tightly around her stomach, sharp nails digging into her skin through the fabric of her robes while the other held a small dagger to her throat.

Jaina clenched her fist again. “I could freeze you right now,” she said between gritted teeth. She felt the sharp dagger cut her slightly, rivulets of blood dribbling down her neck and onto the pendant she wore, continuing to drip down her chest, staining peach skin and her clothes.

“And I could slice open your neck,” came the counter, whispered into Jaina’s ear. “Who would be faster between the two of us?”

Jaina felt the tension in her shoulders loosen and she unclenched her fist. Slowly and carefully, she raised her hands in surrender.

“That’s better.”

“What do you want, banshee?” Jaina hissed.

“For starters,” Sylvanas began, “you can ease up on the attitude and have a seat.”

Jaina opened her mouth to retort, but instead closed it and did as she was told, taking a seat at her desk. She watched Sylvanas saunter over to her bed, boots clicking on the stone floor before they were kicked off. The banshee climbed onto the mattress, settling back against the pillows.

“Comfy,” she said, lips twisting into a smirk.

Jaina inhaled sharply, her patience all but gone. “I don’t remember giving you permission to be in my bed.”

Sylvanas tilted her head at the mage. Jaina was clenching and unclenching a fist in a show of frustration and defiance. “It’s not as if you’re using it at the moment, darling.”

“Why are you here? Come to check on your failed experiment with Derek?”

Sylvanas crossed her arms over her chest. “Is this room secure?”

Jaina set her jaw. “Obviously not, since you got in. Is that a trick question?”

The banshee’s expression was serious. “Not a trick, Lady Proudmoore.”

Jaina was still irritated. “Yes, it’s secure. Now answer me. Why are you here?”

For a moment, Sylvanas just looked at the mage, studied her face and hands, her stiff shoulders, her deeply uninviting stance.

Sylvanas began to have doubts about the plan she had concocted, began wondering if going to the new leader of Kul Tiras was the right move.

With a sigh, she realized that she had nothing to lose. Her own faction hated her and was likely plotting against her. Her only ally was Nathanos and he was incredibly biased.

No, coming to Lady Proudmoore was her best—and perhaps only—move. Whether or not it worked in her favor remained to be seen. First, though, she would actually need to clue in the all-powerful mage on what was happening.

“This isn’t a social call, banshee,” Jaina spat. “Talk, or leave.”

Licking her lips, Sylvanas finally spoke. “When Arthas killed me, he wrenched my soul from my body and forced me to serve under him, commit atrocities in his name.”

“Is there a point to this, or do you think I’ve somehow forgotten this information?”

Sylvanas sighed patiently and continued. “When his power weakened, I was able to use that to my advantage and reclaim my body and my free will.”

Jaina softened just slightly, realization beginning to dawn on her. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. This did not make sense. Was Sylvanas actually suggesting what Jaina thought she was? Jaina swallowed. She knew about Bolvar Fordragon being the new Lich King, but to her knowledge, he was simply keeping the Scourge in line. The thought of him succumbing to the darkness like Arthas had...

Jaina felt sick.

“I don’t understand. The new Lich King, he wouldn’t do this.”

“He is,” Sylvanas said.

Jaina shook her head. “No.”

“Yes.”

“No! What you’re suggesting can’t possibly be true!” Jaina’s shoulders trembled and she took a deep breath to try and steady herself.

Sylvanas regarded the mage, feeling just the slightest bit of sympathy. “There must always be a Lich King,” she said.

“I’m aware,” Jaina cut in, but Sylvanas continued speaking as though there had been no interruption.

“The Scourge will destroy everything if they are not kept in line, but it would seem that it may happen anyway, if this new Lich King follows Arthas’ path.”

Jaina scoffed. “You’ve been doing a fine job of using Blight to destroy everything yourself, banshee.”

“And whom do you think is responsible for that, hm?”

Jaina’s mouth fell open slightly and she quickly closed it, clearing her throat. “You can’t possibly expect me to believe that you’re being controlled again, by a Lich King that wouldn’t be doing this.”

“That’s exactly what I want you to believe,” Sylvanas said as Jaina frowned at her. “I want you to believe it because it’s true.”

Jaina was clenching her fist again. Sylvanas watched her with a curious expression. Something Jaina had said made her think... Did the mage know more than she let on?

“You know who the Lich King is, don’t you?” It was more of a statement than a question, as it was obvious that Jaina had some knowledge she had not yet shared.

Jaina ignored Sylvanas, rising from her seat and pacing the room, her slippers making slapping sounds on the stone floor. She ran a hand through hair that flowed freely, out of her usual braid and caressing her shoulders. She tucked the remaining lock of gold behind her ear nervously as she continued to pace back and forth.

She stopped and turned slightly, feeling Sylvanas’ gaze on her. The banshee staring deeply unnerved her and she took a shuddering breath as Sylvanas repeated her question. Jaina ignored her again and felt as though the banshee’s red eyes would bore through her skin, straight into her soul.

She looked down at herself then, finally seeing the result of their altercation earlier. Her neck had stopped bleeding, but her pendant, chest, and robes were shining with ribbons of her blood.

She whirled on Sylvanas. “If what you say is true, and I’m not acknowledging that it is, how long has it been going on? Is this recent?”

Sylvanas began to respond, but Jaina kept going, her voice steadily rising.

“Before or after you burned Teldrassil, slaughtering so many innocents? Before or after you used the Blight on everyone, including your own people? Before or after you raised Derek to try and use my own brother against me?!”

Jaina’s voice almost broke on the last sentence, her stormy blue eyes flashing with hurt and rage. She dug her nails into her thighs to keep herself from obliterating Sylvanas where the banshee lay, still lounging on her bed.

Sylvanas still wanted an answer to her question, but it was clear that, at least for the moment, Jaina had no intention of providing her with one. She moved on, deciding to try and explain in more detail what was happening.

She spoke quietly and solemnly, saying, “Right around the discovery of azerite, I paid a visit to the Frozen Throne, as I do once a year.”

Jaina forced herself to try to calm down, letting her white-knuckled hands relax at her sides. She found herself moving closer to her bed and she sat down on the edge of it, facing Sylvanas. She chose not to speak as she regarded the banshee with interest. She surprised herself. She had not expected to want to hear a thing the banshee had to say. But now, with Bolvar possibly becoming a liability, she needed all the information she could get.

“Years ago, after Arthas fell, I journeyed to the Frozen Throne and I leapt off.”

Jaina hid her shock, gulping hard and looking away. She still did not speak.

“When I went there for the first time, I saw the new Lich King, encased in ice. I recognized his body as human, his armor as Alliance.”

Jaina just shook her head in disbelief. She was trembling again, the knowledge of Sylvanas’ apparent suicide chilling her to the bone.

“Unless you want to hear all the details, I’d rather not go into it, and I’ll just keep this short,” Sylvanas said. She glanced at Jaina, who was still looking away and seemed to either have no intention of saying whether or not she wanted to know the whole story, or was simply too stunned to reply. Sylvanas was not sure which was the truth, so she continued with the short explanation. “I died and I saw what awaited me if I chose to stay dead. It was... not pleasant. I would have spent eternity in a nightmare. Several val’kyr made a deal with me and here I am.”

Jaina forced herself to nod, feeling as though she was in a daze. Finding her nerve, she asked, “Why do you go back?”

Sylvanas looked at her then and Jaina finally met her gaze. They looked at one another for a few moments before Jaina looked down, nervously fidgeting with her robes.

“To remind myself of what awaits me if my val’kyr fall.”

“So you’ve been to the Frozen Throne multiple times since Arthas...” Jaina trailed off, feeling an ache in her chest.

“Since our champions killed him, yes,” said Sylvanas. “Most of my visits were uneventful. I looked upon the new Lich King and looked over the edge and then left. But my most recent visit, I felt different when I arrived and even more so when I left. Something had changed in the Lich King and something had changed in me, but I could not do anything about it. His hold became stronger and stronger. I felt as though I was having an out of body experience. I could only scream in my head at what was happening, what I was doing.

“Recently, I’ve started to feel that his hold on me is weakening. I want to take advantage and destroy him, before he can try to get his strength back. But, I need help to do it.” Sylvanas looked at Jaina again, finding her still looking at her lap.

Jaina finally looked up and met the banshee’s gaze. “Why would you ask me for help, above anyone else?” Sylvanas was about to respond when Jaina added, “Or am I the last resort?”

Sylvanas was patient. “My... allies... such as they are, don’t trust me after everything I’ve done under the Lich King’s influence. I couldn’t go to them. They wouldn’t have believed me.”

Jaina let out a rueful laugh. “And you thought that I would believe you? Help you?”

Sighing softly, Sylvanas murmured, “You used to be diplomatic, Lady Proudmoore. Whatever happened to that?”

“Garrosh.” Jaina just about spat the name, her body tensing as it left her mouth.

“He was dealt with,” Sylvanas reminded her. Her voice was sharp, her words cutting. “The Horde has been under new leadership for some time. You still treat everyone who isn’t Alliance with disdain at best and pure hatred at worst.”

Jaina did not respond right away, but when she did, her tone was cold. “I was naive. I’m not anymore.”

Sylvanas licked her lips. “Baine returned Derek to you because he still honors the friendship that the two of you once shared.” She stared at Jaina with fiery red eyes, watched the mage shift uneasily in her seat at the edge of the bed. “Does that mean nothing to you? Are you so far gone that you would end up as your father did, cut down because of his hatred and rage towards the Horde?”

Fury welled up inside Jaina and she sprang to her feet, blue eyes glowing as she fired off spell after spell at Sylvanas, every one of them missing because Sylvanas was too fast to hit in her banshee form. Jaina started to let out a frustrated, sorrowful scream, but the banshee appeared behind her, an ice-cold hand over her mouth and the familiar dagger at her neck again.

She breathed heavily, sagging against Sylvanas, feeling utterly helpless and broken. There were tears in her eyes and, for a moment, she willed them not to fall in front of her enemy. Then, she realized she did not care. She could not defeat Sylvanas here, certainly not alone.

And, maybe, that was okay. She decided she would listen to Sylvanas, hear her plan. It did not seem as though she had any other choice in the matter.

Her tears began to stream silently down her cheeks as her breathing began to return to normal. She realized she was tired. Tired now and just wanting to sleep, certainly, but tired of hating the Horde, tired of the two factions continuously plotting against the other and neither having much to show for it.

What was the point anymore? Why did they keep fighting each other? What did they hope to gain by doing so?

She closed her eyes, taking a shuddering breath. She tried to steady herself, but she was still very much hurt and upset by Sylvanas’ harsh words.

Sylvanas felt Jaina go limp against her, heard and felt her breaths nearly become sobs and then begin to, very slowly, return to normal. She sheathed her dagger and slowly removed her hand from Jaina’s mouth, dropping both hands to the mage’s hips, holding her upright as she tried to recover.

Sylvanas did not regret what she had said. Judging by Jaina’s reaction, it seemed those were the words she needed to hear. Perhaps now, she would be more willing to listen, maybe even agree to help.

Carefully, Sylvanas pulled back from the mage, fading away into the bathroom in Jaina’s quarters and returning with a soaked cloth, a healing salve, and a bandage.

Jaina was still standing in the same spot, her eyes closed, feeling a bit dizzy on her feet. She was still near the bed and she sank down upon it, trying to work through her thoughts.

She gasped when she felt the warmth of a wet cloth on her neck and chest and opened her eyes.

Sylvanas was carefully cleaning the wound she had inflicted upon Jaina earlier, her hand moving in gentle strokes, wiping away the blood on Jaina’s neck and upper chest.

Tentatively, Sylvanas grasped the pendant around Jaina’s neck and began scrubbing it, making it shine like new after a few moments.

Jaina noticed Sylvanas looking at her, eyes dropping to her cleavage, where there was still blood that she had not dared to try and clean. Sighing softly, and with her lips curving ever so slightly upward in a smile, Jaina took the cloth that Sylvanas held out to her and quickly wiped away the remaining lines of blood between her breasts. Her robes were still partly stained, but that was something she could worry about later.

Sylvanas lifted her gaze to Jaina’s neck and a smile of her own pulled at her mouth. She opened the vial of salve and dabbed some of it on her fingertips, then tenderly applied it to the wound on Jaina’s neck. She took the cloth from Jaina’s hand and gave her the vial in return. She wiped the excess salve on the cloth and handed it back.

Reaching up with both hands, she began applying the bandage, mindful not to make it too tight. Satisfied with her work, she took the vial and cloth from Jaina and faded away to the bathroom, placing the vial back in its cabinet and washing her hands and rinsing the cloth. She set the cloth on the counter, dried her hands on a towel, and walked out of the bathroom, climbing into Jaina’s bed again, relaxing against the pillows.

Jaina turned and regarded the banshee with interest. The last few minutes almost did not seem real. She had tried, unsuccessfully, to destroy Sylvanas, who then held a blade to her throat a second time, had held her when her energy and will to fight had left her, and had finally cleaned and bandaged her wound, all without saying a word. All, seemingly, without a shred of judgement.

Her tears had stopped falling and were now drying on her cheeks. Sylvanas had not even mentioned them, did not seem to want to lord over her how she had nearly shattered the mage with words more destructive than any weapon.

Sylvanas was looking at her hands, but she could see Jaina staring at her out of the corner of her eye. She looked up then, meeting the mage’s gaze and feeling surprised when Jaina did not look away, instead appearing to soften considerably as they continued looking at one another.

Jaina inhaled deeply and let it out slowly, trying to find her nerve. The calm silence between them served to relax her and she finally spoke, “Thank you.” The words had deep meaning beyond the surface and Jaina wondered if Sylvanas would understand.

Sylvanas raised two long dirty blonde eyebrows at her and opened her mouth to speak before closing it and simply nodding. She did not dare broach the subject of their previous conversation. If Jaina wished to know more, if she wished to help, Sylvanas wanted her to make that move. Pushing her now would likely only bring ruin and destroy any chance she might have of finally breaking free of the Lich King’s control.

Sylvanas realized, however, that Jaina’s words were more than simple gratefulness for caring for her wound. The sentiment went far beyond that and Sylvanas felt more sure now that Jaina would help her.

Jaina stood then and walked over to a dresser at the opposite end of the room. She withdrew a pair of sea green pajamas and set them on top of the dresser. Her back to Sylvanas, she removed her bloodstained robes and the breeches underneath, setting them aside. She stepped into her pajama bottoms and shrugged on her top, buttoning all but the top two buttons. Her room was a bit warm tonight, but there was a cool breeze wafting in through her open window, serving to relax and cool her down.

Sylvanas had watched the mage undress and dress, eyes appreciatively gazing upon the warm color and smooth lack of blemishes and scars on Jaina’s shoulders and back, feeling a hint of jealousy rise within her. She was quite vain in life as well as in death and she loved being the most beautiful person in a room. Even in death, she could still be the most beautiful with few exceptions... and Lady Jaina Proudmoore was one such exception.

Sylvanas kept her eyes fixed on the mage as she made her way back to the bed and, once again, sat upon the edge of it. Jaina had picked up a brush on the way over and was slowly running it through her hair.

Sylvanas let out a sigh that made Jaina stop brushing her hair for a moment, then resume as though the banshee’s sigh had not disturbed her. Sylvanas was transfixed, the simple action of Jaina brushing her hair deeply relaxing her. All thoughts and feelings of jealousy left her, replaced with a tranquil feeling that made her smile gently at the mage. She could not remember the last time she had felt so peaceful, but she was grateful all the same.

Jaina looked up then, peering curiously at Sylvanas, confused and slightly disturbed at the smile the banshee was giving her.

“Thank you,” Sylvanas said and she looked down at her hands in her lap.

Jaina looked at her still, deeply confounded by the banshee’s words, but feeling oddly comforted by them as well. Sylvanas had moved to one side of the bed, leaving Jaina plenty of room if she wished to share the bed with the banshee.

Swallowing, Jaina stood up, setting her brush down on her bedside table. She climbed into bed, propping a couple of pillows up behind her, and settled back, leaning her head against the wall. She closed her eyes, thinking, wondering how to restart the discussion they had been having prior to their second violent altercation.

Eyes still closed, Jaina murmured, “If Bolvar is losing his hold on the Scourge or if he is planning to use the Scourge against us, we have to stop him.”

Sylvanas raised a tall eyebrow and looked upon the mage. “Bolvar Fordragon?”

Jaina opened her eyes and looked at Sylvanas. They were close enough to embrace... or kill each other. Jaina shivered and nodded at the banshee, then looked down at her hands in her lap.

“Well,” Sylvanas began, turning her gaze towards the window as she spoke, “this changes nothing. He needs to be removed from his position. He’s no longer trustworthy.”

“I agree,” Jaina said simply. She looked up again and Sylvanas turned to her. Their eyes met, the two of them looking as though they had already mutually accepted their responsibility.

“So, you’ll help?” Sylvanas asked gently, holding the mage’s gaze.

“I will,” Jaina pledged, not looking away.

Sylvanas nodded and then looked back to the window. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jaina look in the opposite direction, absently looking about the room. Sylvanas allowed herself to follow Jaina’s gaze and truly look upon the room’s various details and furnishings.

It was a large bedroom in an upper floor of Proudmoore Keep in Boralus. There was a bathroom; a bed with small tables on either side of it, a small stack of books on the table by Jaina; a desk stacked with parchments, books, pens, and inkwells; a wardrobe, multiple dressers, and bookcases, their shelves filled with various volumes of all sorts of subjects. The decorations were minimal, a few family portraits adorned the walls here and there. The walls themselves were painted a lovely cream that matched the sheets, while the blankets were a beautiful shade of blue that almost matched Jaina’s eyes. With tomes seemingly everywhere, it was a room fitting of the mage, a bookworm in her youth and still one now.

“What’s the plan?”

Jaina’s voice snapped Sylvanas out of her thoughts and she asked, “I’m sorry?”

“The plan,” Jaina repeated. “How are we going to do this?”

Sylvanas sighed and said, “I figure we journey to the Frozen Throne, just the two of us, an army will probably just make the situation worse, and confront him. Perhaps there’s an explanation for all of this, an answer for why he has done what he has and why he continues to do it.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Jaina said with a nod. She swallowed then. “And... if there is no explanation? If he’s intending to unleash the Scourge on us?”

Sylvanas looked at her and smiled. “Then we fight.”

Jaina was hesitant to return the smile, but she found herself nodding again. “Just you and me?”

Sylvanas’ smile grew broader and she swore the mage looked a tad excited at the prospect of fighting alongside her. “Just you and me.”

“Okay,” Jaina whispered. “When?”

“Tomorrow morning, bright and early.” Sylvanas scooted down under the covers, adjusting the pillows and laying her head down, facing Jaina. “We should get some rest, Lady Proudmoore.”

Jaina opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to tell Sylvanas to find somewhere else to sleep, but she closed it instead. It would not do any good and at least this way, she knew where Sylvanas was and hopefully would not need to worry about her traipsing about the Keep.

Swallowing hard, she slipped under the blankets and rearranged her pillows, laying her head upon them and regarding Sylvanas with tired eyes. The banshee was already seemingly asleep, her eyes closed and soft, cool air escaping her lips.

Jaina looked at her for a while longer, studying her face. She looked peaceful and nothing like the cold, hard banshee she was when she was awake. She looked like the hero that Jaina had once known her to have been, one who cared deeply about her people and not just herself. Perhaps that still lingered, deep under the surface, buried under her desire to live, to not be forced to face the nightmare that she had said her death would bring.

Jaina shook her head. All that mattered now was figuring out what Bolvar was doing or planned to do, and putting a stop to it before it went any farther than it already had. With a last look at the woman in her bed, she waved a hand to extinguish the candles keeping the room lit, then closed her eyes and fell asleep.

***

When Jaina awoke the next morning, it took her a moment to realize that what had transpired the night before had not been a bizarre dream. She sat up and looked to her right. She was alone in bed.

Gasping, she asked, “Banshee? Where—“

Sylvanas exited the bathroom, running a hand through her hair. She was humming sweetly. “You called?”

Jaina let out a heavy, relieved sigh, her hand on her chest, trying to slow her racing pulse.

“I drew a bath for you, darling,” Sylvanas said as she laced up her boots. “Get ready, I’ll meet you in Icecrown.”

“No,” Jaina said firmly and Sylvanas looked up.

“Pardon?”

“We’re going together, or not at all.”

Sylvanas narrowed her eyes and nodded. “Fair enough, Lady Proudmoore.”

Jaina stood from the bed and went to the bathroom. She left the door open a crack and undressed, stepping into the bath Sylvanas had prepared for her. She felt herself soften and relax, enjoying the banshee’s kind gesture, even if it was merely to save time. She washed quickly, not wanting to linger as she heard Sylvanas’ boots click and clack as the banshee paced the stone floor.

Outside, Sylvanas walked back and forth, pausing every so often to check out some of the books Jaina had laying about the room. They looked dull to Sylvanas, mostly tomes on magic, various spells, history, and the like. She sighed a bit and resumed pacing, waiting for Jaina to finish in the bath.

She raised an eyebrow then, an idea forming in her head. She walked to the wardrobe and ran a hand through Jaina’s clothes. They were dreadfully boring, Sylvanas thought, and with a wicked smirk, she decided that they suited the mage just fine.

She selected an outfit similar to the one Jaina had been wearing the previous night as well as a warm cloak to pair with it, then closed the wardrobe and walked back over to Jaina’s bed, setting the clothes upon it.

She looked about the room and her eyes fell upon a dresser that she had seen Jaina take a pair of pajamas from the night before. She imagined the dresser likely also contained more sensitive articles of clothing and she decided against rummaging through the drawers for Jaina’s underthings.

Shrugging to herself, Sylvanas walked over to the chair at Jaina’s desk and sat down to wait.

Jaina finished washing and pulled the plug out of the bath. She could no longer hear Sylvanas’ boots on the floor and she shivered, gooseflesh rising along her body, nervous that Sylvanas had departed without her.

Wrapping a towel around herself, she hurried to the door and pulled it open. Her tense shoulders relaxed when she saw Sylvanas look up at her from the chair at her desk.

She exited the bathroom, letting out a relieved sigh, and began to walk to her wardrobe. She stopped in her tracks when Sylvanas cleared her throat and pointed at the bed. Jaina looked at the clothes and back to Sylvanas, feeling heat rise in her cheeks.

“Don’t worry,” Sylvanas said, picking up a tome on Jaina’s desk and opening it to a random page. “I didn’t go through your... intimates. I left that up to you.”

Jaina just shook her head as Sylvanas smirked at her. She made her way over to her dresser to pick out undergarments, then swept back over to her bed, gathering the clothes Sylvanas had selected and disappearing back into the bathroom.

She shed her towel and dressed quickly, emerging from the bathroom, and drawing her cloak about her shoulders. She went to her wardrobe again and selected heavy boots that would be appropriate for the cold climate into which they were preparing to journey.

Jaina sighed gently, running a hand through her hair. She had not braided it and it hung loosely about her shoulders.

Sylvanas looked up then, closing and setting down the book she held. She watched Jaina’s hand stroke flowing white hair. She stood up and walked over to Jaina, silently taking the mage’s hair in her hands and beginning to braid it.

Jaina let the banshee’s quick, deft fingers braid her hair, feeling herself relax. She produced a band and held it out to the banshee who took it and wrapped it around the end of the braid.

They looked at one another as Sylvanas let her hands fall to her sides. They were close enough to embrace again and Sylvanas took a step back, giving Jaina a nod.

Jaina returned the nod and began casting a portal to Northrend that would place them just outside of Icecrown Citadel. Her hands shook slightly, the place held many memories for her, memories that she did not want to relive.

Sylvanas sensed unease within the mage and she lay a gentle hand atop both of Jaina’s. They shared a look and Sylvanas spoke softly, “You don’t have to do this.”

Jaina shook her head. “You can’t defeat him alone.”

“Probably not,” Sylvanas conceded, “but if you wish to withdraw—“

“No,” Jaina said, her voice hard. “I agreed and that’s final. I—“ She corrected herself, “ _We_ are doing this.”

With the slightest of smiles, Sylvanas nodded. Jaina finished casting the portal and grabbed her staff from where it rested under her bed.

“Ready?” the mage asked, harnessing her weapon on her back.

“As I’ll ever be,” replied the banshee.

Jaina held out a hand in front of her, gesturing for Sylvanas to go first. Sylvanas stepped through and Jaina followed.

They emerged in front of the entrance to Icecrown Citadel, a strong wind whipping about their hair and cloaks. Jaina shivered and tucked her braid into the hood of her cloak as she pulled it over her head. Sylvanas walked ahead of her, seeming to be entirely unaffected by the cold. If she did not enjoy living so much, Jaina would have been jealous at Sylvanas’ ability to disregard the freezing temperature.

With a heavy sigh, Sylvanas made her way inside, Jaina following right behind. It was still cold inside, but not nearly as much as it was outside. Sylvanas paused briefly and Jaina stood at her side. The pair stood looking about the entryway.

It was empty, the monsters that had once guarded the halls long gone, vanquished by Horde and Alliance champions years before. If there were any new ones, they were likely up with the Lich King himself.

The two journeyed silently through the halls, making their way up a winding path to the first teleporter. They used it to emerge in the middle of the Citadel, their eyes falling upon the teleporter down a short bridge that would take them directly to the Frozen Throne.

Sylvanas turned to Jaina and Jaina turned to Sylvanas, their shoulders touching and their faces mere inches from each other.

“Last chance to turn back, forget I ever came to you,” Sylvanas whispered.

Jaina shook her head. “I said we’re doing this and we will.”

Jaina walked towards the teleporter and Sylvanas caught up with her in a couple of long, graceful strides. They stopped just short of stepping on it and exchanged one last glance.

Sylvanas smiled and bumped Jaina’s shoulder with her own. “Let’s win, Lady Proudmoore.”

Jaina felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth and she nodded.

They both faced forward and stepped onto the teleporter.

The chilling winds from outside the Citadel returned as Jaina and Sylvanas reached the Frozen Throne. Bolvar was still encased in ice, sitting upon the throne itself. Sylvanas clenched her fists at her sides, feeling suddenly sick. Her head ached and she staggered backwards.

Jaina stepped back out of instinct, raising her hand, a freezing spell at the ready. She looked to the throne and thought she heard laughter. She looked back to Sylvanas who had fallen to her knees, writhing in agony, an ear-piercing wail pulled from her lips, carrying through the winds of Northrend.

“Sylvanas...?” Jaina whispered, stepping towards her cautiously.

“Stay... back...” Sylvanas choked out. “He... he...”

Jaina turned back to the throne, now positive that she had heard laughter. “Bolvar...?”

“Mm,” came the booming voice from the man encased in ice.

It was obvious there would be no discussion with the Lich King. His intentions were clear and so was the task of Jaina and Sylvanas. 

Jaina’s shoulders shook and her lower lip trembled. He sounded exactly like Arthas did when he wore the Helm of Domination, when he was the Lich King. She took a breath to steady herself and walked towards the throne, her boots crunching the snow beneath her.

“Release her,” she said, her voice wavering slightly.

The Lich King stared at her.

“I said, ‘release her!’” Jaina’s voice was strong and commanding now, echoing over the mountaintops of Icecrown.

The Lich King just laughed again and Jaina readied a fire spell, blasting apart the ice block that held the man who used to be Bolvar Fordragon. He stood and looked towards Sylvanas.

Sylvanas staggered to her feet behind Jaina. She withdrew the dagger from her belt and slowly, carefully, faded just behind the mage and nearly slit open her throat.

Jaina reacted quickly, shouting in shock as she blinked away, out of Sylvanas’ reach. She turned, gasping, and faced Sylvanas, finding her kneeling down, holding her head and wailing again.

Jaina turned to Bolvar and began battling him in earnest. He started slowly making his way to her, down the stairs that led to the circular platform. The spells she cast were damaging him greatly and he struggled to get in range of her.

Jaina blinked around the platform, careful to stay out of his range as much as she could. She tried to focus on Bolvar, but her eyes kept falling upon Sylvanas as the banshee tried to force the Lich King out of her head.

Sylvanas stood, the action taking almost all of the energy she had and withdrew her bow from her back, nocking an arrow. She pulled back the string, aiming at Bolvar, but could not bring herself to fire. He was in her head again, trying to tell her to kill Jaina.

She heard Jaina’s voice then, from the opposite edge of the platform.

“Sylvanas, help me!”

Sylvanas watched in a daze as Jaina blinked around the platform, firing off spell after spell at Bolvar, narrowly avoiding his swings. Sylvanas took aim at Bolvar, gritting her teeth. He was laughing again, the sound nearly unbearable.

Her aim dragged towards Jaina and she struggled to pulled it back. “I won’t do it, you son of a bitch!” she screamed, her voice echoing loudly.

She pointed her arrow at Bolvar and quickly released the string.

The arrow stopped him cold and Jaina felt relief wash over her. For a moment, only a moment, the mage let her guard down and then she felt it. Felt the Lich King’s blade in her side, felt Sylvanas’ scream deep in her bones, felt blood on her hands as she helplessly clutched at her wound and crumpled to the icy ground.

Sylvanas rushed over to Jaina and fell to her knees at the mage’s side. “No...” she moaned, shaking her head. “No. No! NO!” Her cries echoed and it almost felt like the winds carrying her voice were mocking her.

She leapt to her feet, screaming and wailing and slashing at the laughing Lich King with her dagger. He was weak and Sylvanas had the upper hand, but he was still fighting. He took a mighty swing at her and she disengaged at the last second, causing him to go sprawling across the ice, his blade clattering to the ground and sliding away from him, towards Sylvanas’ boot.

Smiling without humor, she picked up the blade and flung it off the platform to be lost somewhere in the snow of Icecrown below.

The Lich King stood up, no longer laughing. He was raging and he raised his hands, summoning ghouls who charged at Sylvanas, swinging wildly as she dodged away. She aimed her bow, nocking arrow after arrow with blinding speed, her aim true, destroying every ghoul the Lich King sent forth.

“Is that all?!” she screamed at him. “Is that all you have left?!”

He did not answer.

“The mighty Lich King is without his blade and without any monsters to serve him!”

Sylvanas kept firing arrows at him. His body was even more badly burned than it had been, thanks to the spells Jaina had fired off earlier and with Sylvanas’ arrows, he closely resembled a pincushion.

“You can’t control me anymore!”

She kept shouting at him, enraged, angry tears filling her eyes as she watched him grow weaker and weaker, felt the last bit of sway he had over her fade completely as he finally slumped to the ground and stopped moving.

She stalked over to him and ripped off his helmet, throwing it at the throne, watching as it bounced off harmlessly, then rolled down the stairs and came to a stop at her feet. She knelt down by the Lich King, stared into his dead eyes, and took her dagger to his neck.

Sickening ripping and slicing sounds cut through the air as she decapitated him and held his head by his neck before dropping it unceremoniously next to his body.

Sylvanas wiped her hands on her cloak and then swiped at her eyes as her tears continued to fall. Her tears were no longer angry. Now, they were full of sorrow.

She walked slowly towards Jaina, dropped her dagger and bow to the ground, falling to her knees again, her pants becoming soaked in Jaina’s blood. This was all her fault. If she had never come to Jaina, the mage would still be alive. She sat by her, weeping, feeling an incredible sadness, a wave of guilt, and such torment that her whole body began to shake.

She reached out an unsteady hand, gently turning Jaina onto her back and was startled when Jaina moaned in pain.

“You—“

Jaina struggled to bring herself to a sitting position and she leaned heavily against Sylvanas.

“How...?”

Sylvanas was dizzy with equal parts happiness and confusion. She tore open Jaina’s robes to inspect the wound and let out an enormous sigh of relief when she saw that although the Lich King had cut Jaina deeply, he had only managed to slice her flesh. From what Sylvanas could see, Jaina’s organs had not been touched.

The banshee withdrew her own cloak from her shoulders and wrapped it tightly around Jaina’s wound, creating a makeshift tourniquet.

Jaina inhaled sharply, the action leaving her breathless for a moment. “Is he...?”

“He’s dead,” Sylvanas answered, drawing Jaina into her arms.

“Oh...” Jaina began softly, “I’m so relieved I could kiss you right now.”

Sylvanas chuckled and stroked Jaina’s cheek. “I think that’s the blood loss talking, darling.”

Jaina chuckled as well, then gasped as pain shot through her side. “Maybe...” she murmured. She turned to Sylvanas and planted a tender kiss by her mouth, then collapsed on the banshee’s shoulder, closing her eyes out of pain and exhaustion.

Sylvanas held her tighter, running her fingers over the mage’s hair. “Are you strong enough to cast a portal out of here?” she asked gently.

“I will be,” Jaina replied weakly. “I just need a few minutes to get my bearings a bit.”

“Of course,” Sylvanas said.

Jaina burrowed further into Sylvanas’ embrace, finding comfort and ease of mind that she had not expected to get from an enemy. But, she told herself, Sylvanas was no longer an enemy. Together, they had fought a major threat to their people, and together, they had triumphed. She and Sylvanas were not enemies, but neither were they allies, at least, not yet. Once they returned home with the news and once Jaina had gotten patched up, perhaps some form of peace talks could begin.

Hopefully, things would return to how they were prior to Bolvar controlling Sylvanas and forcing her to do his bidding. Jaina was not sure there could ever be a long lasting peace between the factions, but she hoped that there could at least be an understanding that what had happened in the past several months had not been the actions of the Horde’s Warchief.

Jaina looked up at Sylvanas, finding her with tears streaming down her face and her eyes shut tight. Jaina felt tears in her own eyes as she looked upon this woman with whom she had bonded through conversation and battle. She wrapped her arms around Sylvanas, holding her tightly, and kissing her again, a soft, chaste kiss on her lips.

She felt delirious, the blood loss affecting her deeply. She sat up then and began casting a portal to Stormwind Keep, hoping Anduin or some other priests were around to heal her.

Sylvanas stared at Jaina after the kiss, stunned and confused, but also feeling comforted and appreciated. She was almost certain Jaina’s blood loss was getting to her and was relieved when Jaina began to create a portal so she could return to civilization and be healed.

Jaina finished casting the portal, but neither she nor Sylvanas made any attempt to move. Their eyes fell upon the Helm of Domination, lying near the Lich King’s decapitated corpse.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Jaina murmured, “‘There must always be a Lich King.’” She looked up at Sylvanas.

Sylvanas met her gaze and nodded uncomfortably. “Yes, but if we can expect this to happen again to another poor soul, then perhaps it would be better if we just take on the Scourge as they come.”

Jaina turned her gaze back to the helmet and said, “I think you’re right.”

“After today, I feel like we can take on anything,” Sylvanas murmured.

Jaina smiled lightly. “I think so, too.”

They shared a sweet look and embraced one another tightly. Slowly, they both rose to their feet, Sylvanas holding Jaina as she swayed unsteadily.

The two of them looked at the portal. Once they went through, their lives would change. They shared another look, this time nervousness flowing through them.

After a few moments, Jaina smiled gently, taking Sylvanas’ hand in hers, and together, they stepped through.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s part 2, part 3 is underway. I’m probably going for at least 4 parts, but we’ll see how it goes.
> 
> I’m also going to change the rating soon, so just be prepared for that.

Jaina Proudmoore and Sylvanas Windrunner emerged in the throne room of Stormwind Keep where Anduin Wrynn and Genn Greymane were deep in conversation. The commotion of the two women entering the room startled them and they instantly turned towards the noise. At the sight of Sylvanas Windrunner, Anduin drew his sword and Genn shapeshifted, letting out a howl that echoed through the halls.

“Seize her!” Genn roared and the guards stationed about the room lunged at Sylvanas.

She stepped back from Jaina, hoping the mage would be able to stand on her own and held up her hands in surrender. She said nothing as her arms were pulled roughly behind her back, her wrists clapped in irons, and her bow and dagger wrenched away from her.

Jaina, still weak and delirious, turned to Sylvanas, watching as she was marched away. She turned back to Anduin and Genn. Finding her voice, she said, as boldly as she could manage, “Do not harm her.”

The guards stopped for a moment, turning to their king. Anduin stared at Jaina, desperately trying to determine what was going on. He nodded to his guards and they led Sylvanas away towards the Stockade.

Once Sylvanas was out of sight, Jaina felt her strength leave her and she collapsed to the ground, succumbing to unconsciousness.

***

Sylvanas paced her cell, her boots squishing Light knows what as she walked back and forth. She frowned at her dirty boots and shook them about, watching as bits flew off and landed away from her.

It had been at least two nights since she had been imprisoned. She looked out the small barred window on the wall a couple feet above her head. The sun was setting and stars had begun to dot the night sky.

She could escape if she wanted to, there was nothing keeping her here, at least not physically. She chose to stay because of Jaina. She wanted to play along and show the Alliance that she did not harm Jaina and did not intend to harm anyone else either. Escaping, she knew, would only make her look guilty, something she could ill afford.

She turned, groaning, and slammed her hand against the metal bars of her cell door out of frustration.

“Keep it down,” came a voice down the hall. It was a guard assigned to patrol the block.

“I’ll ‘keep it down’ if you tell me how Lady Proudmoore is faring,” she spat.

The guard perked up and walked down the hall towards Sylvanas’ cell. His steps echoed on the floor as he moved.

He reached her cell and peered at her through the bars. “What do _you_ care about ‘Lady Proudmoore’?” He was mocking her and it took all of Sylvanas’ will to not fade through the bars and strangle him.

Instead, Sylvanas just held the bars loosely in her hands and leaned her forehead against them. When she spoke, she was calm, but she was still annoyed and anxious, and there was a hint of condescension in her tone. “When I entered the Keep with Lady Proudmoore, she was terribly wounded from battle. I was, and still am, concerned for her. If you could grant me the courtesy of telling me her current condition, I would be very grateful, sir.”

She looked at him with red eyes that glowed in the relative darkness of the prison, but she forced her expression to appear kind.

The guard held her gaze for a few moments, then nodded. “Lady Proudmoore is recovering. I’m told she is doing better every day.”

Sylvanas sighed, relief coursing through her tense muscles. She squeezed the bars with her fingers and smiled at the guard, giving him a friendly nod. “Thank you, sir. Sincerely.” The disdain was gone from her voice. She was too happy to continue being haughty.

He gave her an almost sympathetic look, then turned and walked back to his post.

Sylvanas turned to the small cot in her cell and sat down upon it. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes, content to bask in the slight bit of respite she had gained from the guard.

***

Jaina was tucked away in a spare room of the Keep, being watched over day and night as she healed. When she had first arrived, Anduin had staunched the bleeding and used his powers to knit her wound as much as possible, but she would still require bandages and salves and medicine to prevent infection and bolster the healing process.

She sat up and looked out the large picture window in the room, watching as the sun disappeared for the night, replaced by a half-moon and many bright, twinkling stars.

The act of sitting up made her wince in pain and fresh tears sprang to her eyes as she clutched at her bandaged wound. Her door was closed, but there were guards posted outside and she knew Anduin and other priests would be around soon for her next dose of pain medicine.

She breathed in and out slowly, pressing her hands gently to her side as her tears fell down her cheeks and onto her gown. She leaned back against her pillows, closing her eyes and willing sleep to come so she could forget about the pain.

Her thoughts turned to Sylvanas, presumably still down in the Stockade, but no one wanted to talk to her about the Horde’s disgraced Warchief.

New tears crept into her eyes as she realized that she missed Sylvanas. The two of them had not spent much time together and a fair amount of it had been violent, either towards each other or towards the now deceased Bolvar Fordragon, but they had bonded all the same. They were connected for life and Jaina yearned to speak to her again.

For two days, Jaina had tried to convince her friends and allies of Sylvanas’ innocence, of Bolvar’s treachery, but all anyone cared about was tending to her wound and imprisoning the Warchief.

No one wanted to hear the truth, they seemed content to conjure up their own tale that fit Sylvanas being a monster.

Jaina was frustrated. No one was interested in what she had to say and they were even less interested in letting Sylvanas go. With a deep breath, she swung her legs to the floor and stood up slowly.

A sharp cry escaped her lips as she took a few steps around the room, testing if she could walk on her own. She stumbled a bit, but she figured she was steady enough to cast a portal into the Stockade and seek out Sylvanas.

She put out her hands in front of her and was about to begin casting when her door opened and Anduin and a couple other priests walked in. She raised her hands to her hair, fiddling nervously with her braid.

“Oh, you’re up and about,” said Anduin, surprise in his voice. He touched her shoulder kindly. “Are you all right?”

Jaina frowned and sat back down on the bed. Anduin joined her.

“I know you’re upset about Sylvanas,” he began, “but she’s committed horrible acts these past—“

“Under the Lich King’s control,” Jaina said hotly.

Anduin looked down. “As you’ve said.”

Jaina turned to him then, lifting his chin so he was forced to meet her gaze. Her eyes were cold and hard. “Do you not believe me?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just difficult to hear. This is the first I’ve even heard of another Lich King and not only that, you said it was Bolvar!” Anduin shook his head, trying to make sense of the situation.

Jaina softened and looked upon the young man with whom she had always been close, someone she had always considered to be a nephew of sorts.

“Your father and I agreed to keep this from you. You were so young, this wasn’t something you needed to know.”

“But I’m much older now _and_ I’m king!”

He sounded uncharacteristically angry and bitter and Jaina, startled, stood up and put some distance between the two of them. She leaned against a wall, arms folded across her chest. The two priests who had entered with Anduin stood around awkwardly until Jaina turned and stared at them. They looked down and shuffled out of the room, closing the door behind them.

“I realize you’re upset that you weren’t told, but you have to understand that your father and I were looking out for you. We only wanted what was in your best interest at the time.” Jaina sighed and continued, “I don’t think anyone could have predicted that Bolvar would do this. For years, he was stable and kept the Scourge under control. But, when Sylvanas went to the Frozen Throne a few months ago, she felt different, and that was the clue that he had changed.”

Anduin stood and walked over to Jaina. “I don’t think I’ve ever thought of Sylvanas as an evil person, a monster.” He shook his head and sighed heavily. “But that said, for me, it wasn’t all that hard to believe that she could do what she did.”

Jaina considered his words. She could see where he was coming from and, if she had not seen Bolvar with her own eyes, had not seen him affect Sylvanas how he had, she might have agreed with Anduin. But, she had seen what had happened and what was going on and she and Sylvanas had worked together to put a stop to it, saving their allies and all of Azeroth for the time being. Soon, the Scourge would begin to march on Horde and Alliance alike and if the factions wanted any chance of defeating them, they would need to set aside their differences for the foreseeable future and work together.

If they chose not to do so, if they chose to remain at each other’s throats, all would be lost.

“We need to move on,” Jaina said. “Dwelling on the past isn’t going to help anything. Very soon, the Scourge is going to be on our doorstep. We need to be ready to face them.”

“Of course,” Anduin said. “We will be ready. I’m just struggling to wrap my head around this, Auntie.”

Jaina smiled softly and drew Anduin into a hug. “I believe in you, Anduin,” she murmured. “I just want you to believe in Sylvanas and me.”

Anduin stiffened and pulled back. “I believe in _you_ , Auntie. I don’t believe in Sylvanas just yet.”

Jaina nodded. “That will have to do for now, I suppose.” She walked back over to her bed and sat down. “At this point, I would just really like to see her.”

Anduin gave her a kind look. “I can arrange for Sylvanas to come speak with you for a few minutes.”

Jaina was hesitant to push her luck, but she was already frustrated and very close to being past the point of trying to be diplomatic. “She doesn’t belong in a cell.”

Anduin frowned and then nodded. “All right, I’ll release her, but I will say this: if she does anything remotely questionable, it will be on you.”

Jaina swallowed and nodded stiffly. “Fair enough.”

Anduin walked over to her with a vial and poured a glass of water from the pitcher on a nearby table. He handed her the vial first and she drank it down, then handed her the glass and she drained it in two gulps.

“What’s your bandage look like? Do you need a fresh one?”

Jaina squinted at him and licked her lips. “Probably... but I can change it myself.”

Anduin’s cheeks reddened a bit and Jaina hid her smirk behind her hand. “O-of course,” he stammered and quickly tried to change the subject. “Ah, I’ll have Sylvanas freed and sent up to see you.”

Jaina dropped her hand and smiled warmly at him. “Thank you, Anduin.”

“You’re welcome, Auntie.” He opened the door and left the room, closing it behind him.

Tears crept into the corners of her eyes and she allowed herself a quiet laugh of relief. She wiped her eyes and stood, removing her gown to check her bandage, surprised to find it relatively clean. She slipped her gown back on and climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her shoulders and resting her eyes.

***

Sylvanas was pacing her cell again when she heard several pairs of boots marching down the hall towards her. Her long ears perked up, interested in exactly who might be coming to see her.

She stepped up to her cell door and wrapped long fingers around the bars and peered down the hall.

Anduin and Genn, flanked by two guards, approached her cell and stood facing her. She gave everyone a nod and asked, “To what do I owe the pleasure, your majesty?”

Genn growled at her and Anduin shook his head imperceptibly. “I’ve come to release you,” said Anduin as Sylvanas’ tall eyebrows rose, “and to escort you to Lady Proudmoore. She wishes to see you.”

Sylvanas could not contain her joy and relief and she smiled broadly. Anduin’s expression softened and Sylvanas wondered if, perhaps, he may be changing his opinion of her. She stepped back from the cell door, giving Anduin a polite bow. “I appreciate your kindness, your majesty.”

Genn was still growling. Anduin looked at Sylvanas and said, “If you do anything or hurt anyone—“

Sylvanas held up a hand then and Anduin stopped speaking. “You have nothing to worry about, your majesty. The only thing I intend to do is cull the Scourge and the only beings I intend to hurt are the Scourge.”

Anduin took a deep breath and let it out slowly and Sylvanas figured he was considering her words. Finally, he spoke, “I’ll be holding you to that, Warchief. This is going to be difficult, for both factions, to put grievances aside and work together for a common goal, but I have faith.”

Sylvanas nodded. “Well said, your majesty.”

Genn stopped growling and scoffed. Both Anduin and Sylvanas turned to look at him. “You’re mocking him. You’re clearly only saying what you think the king wants to hear,” he spat at her.

Sylvanas narrowed her eyes, her ears flattening in annoyance. “Or, perhaps, I have a vested interest in taking down the minions of two Lich Kings who violated my mind and my free will.”

Genn growled again, shaking his head in what Sylvanas figured to be disbelief, then turned and walked off. Sylvanas, Anduin, and the two guards watched him until he was out of sight.

“Open this,” Anduin instructed one of the guards.

Before the guard could slip the key in the lock, Sylvanas morphed into her banshee form, fading easily through the gaps in the bars.

“W-what...?” one of the guards sputtered. The other stepped back, clearly frightened.

Sylvanas faded back into her normal form, a small smirk on her lips. Anduin frowned at her, but he seemed to understand.

“You stayed in there for two days when you could have just left anytime you wanted,” he said.

“Yes,” Sylvanas replied simply.

Anduin shook his head and sighed. “Maybe... maybe Jaina is right about you. Maybe, you can be trusted after all.”

“If nothing else, your majesty, I would at least appreciate the chance to prove myself,” she said. “We need to rally our allies and meet somewhere neutral to discuss some form of peace between our factions, however temporary. Without a Lich King in place, the Scourge will walk all over us and we need to be prepared to do battle.”

“I agree completely, Warchief,” Anduin said with a nod. “I should be able to get all the Alliance leaders in line, though Genn will be difficult to reason with, I’m afraid.”

“I may have some trouble gathering my allies, but I will try to convince everyone I can. I imagine Baine will be the most challenging and I may need to enlist Lady Proudmoore’s assistance.”

“Certainly,” said Anduin. “I can take you to her now.”

“I would appreciate that.”

Anduin handed her the bow and dagger that had been confiscated earlier. She sheathed the dagger and secured the bow on her back. The two exchanged brief smiles and began heading out of the Blockade.

***

A knock at the door awoke Jaina from a slumber she had not realized she was in. With a shake of her head, she surmised she must have been more tired than she previously thought.

“Come in,” she said, sitting up in bed, the blankets pooled around her lap.

The door opened and in walked Anduin, followed closely by Sylvanas.

Jaina’s eyes went wide and she leapt out of bed, regretting doing so immediately, wincing at her wound. Sylvanas reached her in an instant, strong arms carefully wrapping around her.

“Are you all right?” Sylvanas asked worriedly.

Jaina smiled at her. “I’m fine.”

Anduin stayed where he was, watching the exchange, and said, “Sylvanas is free to go, Jaina. We’re both going to gather our allies and then determine a meeting place to begin peace talks and make plans to defeat the Scourge.”

Jaina turned to him. “Sounds like a fine plan, Anduin.” She gave him an appreciative look.

Anduin nodded and turned to leave. “I’ll leave you two to talk.”

“Thank you again, your majesty,” Sylvanas said.

“You’re welcome, Warchief.”

Anduin exited the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

Jaina and Sylvanas shared a smile and Jaina swept the banshee into a hug. When she pulled back, she gave Sylvanas a concerned once over, asking, “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Sylvanas grinned at her. “I’m fine, Lady Proudmoore. I was not mistreated in any way, although the cell I stayed in was rather unpleasant.”

Jaina laughed and Sylvanas’ grin broadened. They looked at each other for a few moments, then Jaina moved back over to the bed and climbed in. Sylvanas moved to the bed as well, settling in on the other side of Jaina.

“Tired?” Sylvanas asked, laying down and propping herself up on an elbow.

Jaina turned to face her, propping herself up as well. “Mhm,” she murmured sleepily, “the pain medicine knocks me out.”

“How’s that wound doing?”

“Better. Still healing, still painful.”

Sylvanas nodded. “Sleep,” she whispered, closing her eyes and resting her head on a pillow.

Jaina sighed gently and closed her eyes as well. She so very badly wanted to embrace Sylvanas, wanted to kiss her again. It was a feeling she could not explain, but it was incredibly strong and it scared her. She did not know if Sylvanas even remotely felt the same way and she was afraid to ask. Things were too complicated now, their factions were close to beginning peace talks and would soon be fighting the monsters of the Scourge.

Her personal feelings would have to wait. She sighed again and let sleep wash over her.

***

When Jaina awoke the next morning, she was alone in bed. She frowned, feeling bereft, wishing Sylvanas was still with her. With a sigh, she turned to the small table next to her, wanting to pour herself some water.

Her eyes widened upon seeing the small slip of paper by her glass. In a lovely script, a quick message had been scrawled:

_Lady Proudmoore,_

_I’m heading back to Zuldazar to speak with the Horde leaders. I’ll be back soon and, if you’re willing, I may need your help in ensuring the talks go smoothly._

_-S_

She folded the note and set it back down, feeling light. She would see Sylvanas again soon, at least, and that made her happy.

A knock on the door startled her and Anduin entered, flanked by two priests. “Did you sleep well?” he asked, as Jaina watched his eyes dart about the room, clearly looking for Sylvanas.

“She’s not here,” Jaina said, rising from the bed. “She left a note. She’ll be back sometime soon.”

Anduin raised his eyebrows. “Did she... did you... ah... she spent the night, then?”

Jaina was amused by how nervous he was. “She did.” Anduin looked as though he may be sick and Jaina chuckled. “We talked briefly and then we both went to sleep. She was already gone when I woke up.”

Anduin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Jaina shook her head at him, still amused.

“Do you have my medicine?” she asked, as she poured herself a glass of water.

“Huh? Oh... of course, Auntie.” Anduin walked over to her, handing her the vial of medicine.

Jaina smirked at him and leaned in, whispering, “Messing with you is fun.” She gave him a friendly pat on his shoulder as she drank from the vial.

Anduin frowned, then allowed himself a light smile. “I’m sorry, Auntie, I suppose I just worry too much and feel a bit protective towards you, as you’ve always been towards me.”

Jaina smiled warmly at him. He was a sweet kid, although certainly not a kid anymore, she knew. But their relationship had not changed, they were still family. “We look out for each other,” she said. “We always have and we always will.”

Anduin nodded and held out his arms for a hug. Jaina stepped towards him and they embraced for a long moment before she stepped back.

Just then, the two were interrupted by a whooshing sound, as Sylvanas faded in through the window and landed nearby. “ _That_ went well,” she said sarcastically, addressing Jaina and shaking her head. She slumped down on the edge of the bed and was momentarily joined by Jaina.

“I take it they didn’t believe you?”

“Nope. Well, they didn’t shoot it down entirely, but their doubts outweighed their suspension of disbelief, so I told them I would return with someone who could corroborate my story. And, if they still had doubts, we would all take a trip to Icecrown Citadel and they could see for themselves.

“I freed Baine immediately when I returned and he was the most outspoken on not believing me.” She sighed and looked down. “I... can’t say I blame him, but having people I’ve considered allies, if not friends, for years, not believe me and not want to support me... it hurts. Nathanos is the only one who believed me without question, but I had not expected any different.”

Jaina nodded her understanding, feeling a deep amount of sympathy for Sylvanas. Anduin looked between the two of them, then stepped back, politely excusing himself.

“Apologies, your majesty, I didn’t see you when I came in.”

“Not a problem, Warchief,” Anduin said kindly.

“Have you had any luck with your friends?” Sylvanas asked.

“Only Genn is proving to be an issue, as I suspected,” said Anduin. “Everyone else is, at least, tentatively on board.”

Sylvanas nodded her approval. “Good to hear. Hopefully, if Lady Proudmoore joins me, I’ll have an easier time convincing the leaders of my innocence.”

“Of course, I’ll join you,” Jaina said, turning to Sylvanas and smiling. Sylvanas smiled back and, out of the corner of her eye, saw Anduin regarding the two of them nervously.

Sylvanas felt something stir inside her as she and the mage looked at each other. She was uncertain exactly what she was feeling, but she knew, at least, that she wanted to be near Jaina, wanted to spend more time with the woman with whom she had fought a powerful foe and emerged victorious.

She set aside her feelings then, resignedly accepting that there were more important matters at hand. She sighed gently and stood. “Let me know when you’re ready and we’ll get going.”

Jaina nodded. “I just need a quick bath and to change my bandage and I’ll be ready.”

“I’ll start the water, Lady Proudmoore,” said one of the priests, heading towards the bathroom in the room.

“We took the liberty of having your clothes washed and mended,” said the other priest, pointing to Jaina’s outfit, lying upon a nearby dresser.

Jaina smiled appreciatively. “Thank you both,” she said kindly. “I think I’ll return to Boralus after meeting with the Horde leaders. I feel quite a bit better, I think I can continue my convalescence at home.

Both priests nodded and left the room, Anduin following behind. Before he left, he said, “That should be fine. I’ll send along some medicine to Proudmoore Keep for you. And, if you need anything else, Auntie, don’t hesitate to ask.” Jaina nodded her thanks and he left, leaving the mage and banshee alone.

“I’ll get ready,” Jaina said and headed to the bathroom to check on the water. Once the tub was full, she turned off the water, slipped off her gown and the bandage on her abdomen, and stepped in, sinking down until the water was at her chin, involuntarily letting slip a soft moan as the warm water eased her tense muscles and soothed her healing wound.

She gasped then, her face flushing with embarrassment, and wondered if Sylvanas had heard her. She surmised that the banshee probably had, seeing as she had left the door open. She was not even sure she had left it open intentionally, she had just done it without thinking.

A feeling of loneliness washed over her then and she felt her lower lip tremble. She looked down at the water, watching the steam rise.

She nearly leapt out of her skin when she heard a light rapping on the bathroom door.

“Are you all right?”

Sylvanas stood out of the room, her arm outstretched as she knocked. She had heard... something... but she was not certain exactly what it had been. It sounded like a moan of pleasure, but Sylvanas shook her head to clear that thought. It was inappropriate, especially seeing as how Jaina was injured, and, at least prior to the last few days, an enemy.

She was unsure what they were now. They talked as though they were friends, but could they be friends that quickly? Could one instance of fighting side by side turn two enemies into friends?

Sylvanas did not know. What she did know, however, was that even though she tried to disregard it, she felt the same something stir inside her again. However inappropriate it was, her mind was suddenly filled with thoughts and images of Jaina. She pictured Jaina as the mage undressed the other night, naked back towards her, slipping into soft pajamas...

Sylvanas shook her head vigorously. This was not the time to be imagining a drop-dead gorgeous woman naked, particularly when that woman was actually naked in a bathtub just around a corner...

Jaina looked to the door. “I’m fine,” she said, catching her breath. “You can come in.”

Sylvanas gulped. “Are you sure?”

Jaina laughed slightly, sitting up and grabbing a bar of soap and running it along her limbs. “I’m just taking a bath. I won’t bite, I promise.”

Sylvanas’ mouth dropped open and she reached up to close it. She walked in slowly, peeking at Jaina as she entered. The mage was washing herself, her body obscured by the water. Sylvanas looked away guiltily and leaned against the counter.

“What should I say to the Horde leaders?” Jaina asked. “Should I prepare a speech, or just explain what happened?”

Sylvanas took a moment to collect herself and replied, “I think they’ll respond to the truth, if it comes from you. You were the face of diplomacy for some time, I don’t think they’ve forgotten that.”

Jaina nodded and continued washing up as Sylvanas avoided looking at her. She smiled to herself, wondering if they might ever get to a point where Sylvanas would be leaping at the chance to see her naked and be excited to do with her body whatever the banshee desired, assuming, of course, that Sylvanas even felt that way about her.

Jaina was getting distracted again. She forced herself to focus and finished washing up. There was work to do and she needed to concentrate on getting it done.

Her own pleasure could wait.

“Mind handing me that towel?”

Sylvanas raised a long eyebrow as her tall ears perked up and she faced Jaina. The mage was pointing to a towel on a rack and Sylvanas pulled it off, spreading it out fully so that she could wrap it around Jaina when the mage stepped out.

Jaina pulled the plug from the tub and stood up as Sylvanas averted her gaze. She accepted the towel as Sylvanas draped it around her, watching out of the corner of her eye.

“Need help with a fresh bandage?” Sylvanas asked, picking up one of several that were arranged neatly on the counter.

“Yeah,” Jaina said. “Just... let me get decent first.” She gave Sylvanas a light smile.

Sylvanas smiled back.

“I’ll just be a moment,” Jaina said, walking over to where all her clothing lay. She finished drying off, then set the towel down next to her clothes. She stood still for a moment, wondering if Sylvanas was watching, wondering what the banshee was thinking, if anything.

Sylvanas watched the mage, in spite of herself. It felt as though Jaina wanted her to look, even though neither of them had said anything directly about being attracted to or interested in the other. Maybe they were just terrible at communicating when the subject was not about violence or something sinister.

She smiled to herself then looked away. Her gaze had lingered long enough. Maybe, one day, they would figure out how to deal with their feelings, but that day was not today.

***

Once Jaina had partially dressed, gotten help from Sylvanas with her bandage, and then finished dressing, she cast a portal to Boralus and the two set off by boat to Zuldazar.

Somehow, they had managed to make the application of the bandage much less awkward than their previous interactions and the pair were equally relieved.

Jaina had narrowly avoided her mother in Boralus and she was grateful. She could not imagine attempting to explain things as they were currently. It had been difficult enough just trying to convince Anduin, and he was at least reasonable.

No, the time to talk with her mother would come soon enough, and Jaina was deeply dreading it.

Sylvanas stood next to Jaina on the boat, watching the surface of the ocean, allowing herself to grin when big fish leapt out of the water.

She felt peaceful on the water and she pulled back the hood of her new cloak and let her hair flow freely.

Jaina watched Sylvanas shake out her hair and she pulled back her own hood and did the same. She had not braided her hair, but she had brought along a band in case she or Sylvanas fancied doing it up.

Jaina felt a wave of nausea wash over her as she thought about what to say when she met with the various Horde leaders. Sylvanas had told her to tell the truth, but Jaina found herself wondering if that would be enough.

With a heavy sigh, she forced herself to relax and try to enjoy the rest of the journey.

***

Sometime later, the two of them reached the docks of Dazar’alor. Jaina made sure the boat was secure and went to step out when Sylvanas gently caught her wrist. The banshee went to work braiding Jaina’s hair, humming as she did so, finding an odd sort of comfort in the action.

Jaina produced the band from her pocket, closing her eyes as Sylvanas’ fingers carefully stroked and twisted her hair into its usual braid.

Together, they stepped onto the docks and Sylvanas gestured to the Banshee’s Wail. “Everyone is congregating below deck,” she said.

Jaina nodded, her shoulders shaking slightly out of nervousness.

Sylvanas looked around the city, then turned to Jaina. “I’d say ‘welcome to Dazar’alor,’ but, you’ve already been here.”

Jaina winced. Sylvanas’ tone was a bit harsh, a change from how it had been the last few days. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Sylvanas gave a shrug of her shoulders. When she spoke, she chose her words carefully. “King Rastakhan was a fine ruler, but he did not have much love for my Horde. Queen Talanji, on the other hand, is quite fond of my people.”

Jaina nodded, unsure what to say. She and several Alliance leaders had discovered that themselves. Their mission to drive a wedge between the Zandalari and the Horde had backfired spectacularly, though the attack on Dazar’alor had still given them the upper hand in the war.

She began to have doubts about the meeting, doubts about possible peace talks. Was peace or working together even possible after what had happened? Would she even be able to make it through this meeting alive?

She inhaled sharply and took a step back from Sylvanas.

Had the banshee led her into a trap? Had Bolvar even been controlling Sylvanas, or did the banshee just want him out of the way to unleash the Scourge onto everyone?

Was this the plan all along?

No, Jaina had seen Bolvar with her own eyes. She had seen Sylvanas fight against him, heard the banshee’s cries, heard her scream at him, even after the mage had been wounded and sprawled out on the ice.

And then, she had heard the sorrow in Sylvanas’ voice when the banshee believed her to be dead, had seen the happy tears in her eyes as they held each other tight.

No.

This was not a trick.

Even so, Jaina was terrified. Queen Talanji would want her head mounted on a spike. No amount of apologies would erase what she and her allies had done.

Sylvanas’ voice broke her out of her thoughts. “Jaina?”

Jaina looked at her, feeling stunned. Sylvanas had not used her first name before, she had only ever called her “Lady Proudmoore” or “darling,” when the mood seemed to strike the banshee, something that Jaina liked very much. She breathed deeply, pressing her hand to her chest. Her heart was pounding with fear.

Sylvanas walked over to Jaina, placing steady hands on the mage’s shoulders. She leaned close, her lips inches from Jaina’s. “Are you all right?” she whispered.

Jaina trembled, struggling to meet Sylvanas’ gaze. Even with how nervous she felt, how terrified she was that this meeting might end in her death, in the current moment, she could not focus on anything but Sylvanas’ lips near hers.

Heat coiled within her, they were standing so close, close enough for Jaina to throw her arms around Sylvanas’ neck and kiss her as every unpleasant thought faded away.

Her heart beat faster and she finally looked up to meet Sylvanas’ eyes. The banshee looked sweet and concerned and even more lovely than usual and Jaina could barely stand it.

Sylvanas looked at Jaina intently, but kindly, trying to figure out what she was thinking and how she felt. They were close enough to kiss and Sylvanas badly wanted to do so, but she once again found herself thinking that the way she felt was inappropriate. The two of them were close to being able to initiate peace talks and any relationship other than the delicate bond they had formed fighting the Lich King would likely be a detriment at best and a complete disaster at worst.

Jaina’s voice brought her back to reality.

“I’m nervous about Queen Talanji. She wants to kill me and she has every right.” She had forced herself to finally speak, unable to act on her feelings.

“She won’t harm you,” Sylvanas said, giving Jaina’s shoulders a reassuring squeeze, “no one will.”

They stepped back at the same time, turning and standing next to each other.

Sylvanas looked towards the ship, then back to Jaina. “Last chance to turn back, forget I ever came to you.” Her voice was light, recalling what she had told Jaina before they ascended to the Frozen Throne.

Jaina shook her head as she had in Icecrown. “I said we’re doing this and we will.”

Sylvanas bumped Jaina’s shoulder with hers. “Let’s win, Jaina.”

Jaina’s spirits rose considerably. They shared a small smile, then boarded the ship.

They headed down below deck where the leaders of the Horde were waiting. Voices carried throughout the ship as the two descended the stairs. The leaders were engaged in conversation, talking amongst themselves about Sylvanas, the Lich King, and the Scourge.

Sylvanas had been right, Jaina realized, her allies were discussing what Sylvanas had told them as if it could possibly be true, but their doubts were preventing them from simply accepting it outright.

Sylvanas held out an arm to stop Jaina from going further.

“Let me talk to them for a moment first, then I’ll bring you in,” she whispered.

Jaina nodded and Sylvanas went on ahead, disappearing around a corner.

“Everyone!” she called.

The chatter stopped.

“True to my word, I said I would bring someone back who could confirm my story and I have. But first, I need your assurance that you will not lash out, will not act in any way that would be considered unseemly. This person is our guest and I expect you all to treat her as such.”

“‘Her’?” came Baine’s powerful, booming voice.

“Yes.”

Talanji spoke up next, “Do not tell me you have brought Jaina Proudmoore here! That _witch_ murdered my father!”

Jaina walked down the rest of the steps and emerged in the room, standing next to Sylvanas.

Talanji let out a guttural yell and began casting a spell. Jaina lifted a hand and froze her immediately. Talanji raged and Jaina stepped forward cautiously. She stopped in front of Talanji and leaned close to whisper in her ear. The words she was about to say were for Talanji and Talanji alone.

“I know that nothing I say will ever ease the suffering my allies and I have inflicted upon you. I just want you to know that I am willing to do anything to help give you peace of mind. If I don’t live up to this promise, you can have my head. I won’t fight back.”

She pulled back, seeing tears in Talanji’s eyes as the queen regarded her wearily. She realized Talanji was just as tired of fighting as she was. The woman was strong and reasonable, perhaps there was a chance that matters between the Horde and Alliance would not end in violence.

Sighing gently, Jaina released Talanji from her frozen prison and looked into her eyes. There was a calmness in them that comforted Jaina.

Jaina scanned the room, finding all eyes upon her. In addition to Queen Talanji and Baine Bloodhoof, were Lor’themar Theron, Ji Firepaw, Jastor Gallywix, and Rokhan. Various other members of the Horde stood about as well, Lilian Voss, Garona Halforcen, Nathanos Blightcaller...

Jaina began to feel a bit dizzy. There were so many people who could end her life in an instant. She had held off twenty champions of the Horde before as she and her allies prepared to escape Dazar’alor, but they could not compare to the sheer, raw power of the people surrounding her now.

Gallywix spoke up then, pulling Jaina out of her thoughts. “So, the Warchief tells us you saw what happened firsthand and that you can tell us _allllll_ about it. You gonna do that, or are we just gonna sit around? Not that I mind admiring such a pretty face up close, but I don’t know if the rest of these guys feel the same.”

Jaina felt the tension that had been building within her slowly start to wane and she allowed herself a deep sigh before finally speaking. “If I can, I’d like to start from the beginning, a few days ago.”

Lor’themar indicated with a flourish of his hand for her to continue. The others simply looked at her expectantly, apart from Baine, who looked upon her kindly. Jaina felt her heart melt a bit.

“Sylvanas came to me in Boralus the other night, when I was at home in Proudmoore Keep. We... fought briefly. I was not sure I could trust her. We ended up talking and she told me of the power the Lich King had over her, that it started around the time of the discovery of azerite.”

“We’ve heard this,” Rokhan spoke up. “Tell us something new.”

Jaina felt herself beginning to grow upset. “Forgive me,” she said almost harshly, “but I was under the impression I needed to confirm what Sylvanas told you, to tell you my side of the story so that you would see she was telling the truth. That is what I intend to do, unless you would rather see the result of what happened for yourselves.”

She looked around at everyone, gauging their reactions. They all seemed to be a bit taken aback.

“If that’s the case, and you don’t want to listen to what I have to say, we can all go to Northrend right now, journey to the Frozen Throne, and you’ll be able to see for yourselves what took place.”

Gallywix shrugged at his allies. “Well, I’m up for a trip, _if_ we don’t have to walk too much...”

Jaina looked at everyone else again. “Well? Is this what you want?”

“Sounds reasonable,” Lor’themar said with a nod. “Perhaps when we arrive, you can finish your tale.”

Everyone else murmured their assent and Jaina, with a quick look at Sylvanas, began casting a portal to the steps of Icecrown Citadel.

Sylvanas watched as the portal was created, wondering how this trip would go. She hoped the sight of the dead Lich King would finally convince her fellow leaders that what she had said was true and that they would realize the gravity of the situation.

Jaina finished casting and gestured for the Horde to walk through.

“Ah, after you, my lady,” said Lor’themar cautiously, as everyone nodded.

With a subtle shake of her head, Jaina stepped through first and nearly stumbled out of shock.

There were Scourge everywhere, throngs of them, all sorts of races and creatures. Jaina staggered back. They had not seen her yet.

She readied a spell in her hands and suddenly, all eyes were upon her. The Horde leaders had not appeared through the portal yet, not even Sylvanas.

What was the hold-up? She would not be able to take on this many alone.

She looked up at the sky helplessly as the Scourge began to surround her. She fired off spell after spell, crying out, taunting the monsters as she fought.

Where were they?!

The Scourge were closing in. She kept killing as many as she could, but their numbers were too great. If she did not get backup soon, she would not make it.

The Scourge moved closer and closer until they were almost touching her.

Terrified, she whispered, “Light help me...”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s part 3 and this is where the rating change goes into effect. This chapter and the next (when I finishing writing the last half or two-thirds-ish if it) have explicit stuff, so there we go.
> 
> As I said, I’m writing part 4 and that may be the final installment. I still have some ideas I want to make sure I explore before ending this, and depending on length, I may end up having a fifth part. As it is, there’s a huge part of the next chapter that was originally supposed to be part of this one, but I ended up exploring some other plotlines and it got pushed to the next chapter because this one was already 8k (!) words. I think this part also ends on a good note and will lead in to part 4 nicely.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Sorry we’re late!” called Lor’themar jovially, as he and the other members of the Horde began to make their way through the portal. “Had a bit of trouble with—“

“ _What_?!” Gallywix screamed when he saw the Scourge, his voice echoing painfully in everyone’s ears. “I didn’t sign up for this! I’m outta here!”

“— _That_ one,” Lor’themar finished, disgust in his tone.

The goblin turned on his heel and started running in the opposite direction, but Baine grabbed him by the collar of his coat and pulled him back as Gallywix cursed and swung wildly at the air.

“You’re not leaving, Gallywix. If you’re not going to fight, just stay out of the way!” Baine roared.

Everyone apart from Gallywix, who stood near the back of the group pouting, drew their weapons and began fighting the Scourge in front of the Citadel.

Relief flooded through Jaina and her spirits soared as she fought, freezing the monsters as much as possible while Baine swung his axe, cleaving down several at once.

Sylvanas and Nathanos let loose arrow after arrow, eliminating them as they charged forward, while Lor’themar helped keep as many slowed as he could, as he fired off barrage after barrage of arrows towards them.

Talanji and Rokhan used shadow magic to destroy the Scourge from within, while Lilian and Garona shadowstepped to their targets, finishing them off with their daggers. Ji Firepaw was right alongside the rogues, adding a flurry of punches to the whirl of steel.

Gallywix pointed and shouted, encouraging his allies as they fought. “You got one! And another one! Down he goes!”

Lor’themar gave him a look and Gallywix responded by giving him two thumbs up.

“You kids are doin’ great! Keep it up, they’ll all be super dead in no time!”

After some time, the party was sweating and panting, thoroughly exhausted, but legions of Scourge lay dead at their feet. Jaina slumped down on the stairs and Sylvanas joined her as the others leaned against walls or slipped to the ground themselves.

“I knew you guys could do it! Well fou—“

Jaina stood and walked over to Gallywix, clenching a fist.

“Uh, whoa, hey!” Gallywix said, as he stepped back, nervous laughter in his voice. “No need for that! No need for violence! We can talk this ou—“

Jaina slugged him. He went down hard, landing in the pile of Scourge, unconscious.

Sighing, Jaina walked back over to Sylvanas and slumped down again, leaning against the banshee’s shoulder. Baine nodded approvingly and Sylvanas was smirking, along with most of her allies. “That’s quite the right hook you have there, darling.”

Jaina shook her head. She was tired and upset and she found no humor in punching Gallywix. She lifted her hand, inspecting her stinging knuckles. Sylvanas grasped her fingers, pulling a handkerchief from a pouch on her belt and gently cleaning off bits of blood.

“Let’s go inside,” Jaina said after a few moments, rising to her feet.

Sylvanas stood as well, tucking her handkerchief away.

Baine picked up Gallywix and slung the unconscious goblin over his shoulder as the group made their way inside the Citadel.

They took both teleporters and arrived shortly thereafter at the Frozen Throne.

Talanji was the first to react, bringing both hands to her mouth in shock. She stepped forward, kneeling down by the Lich King’s body.

In a matter of moments, the Lich King’s corpse was surrounded by members of the Horde examining him and his helm. Nathanos picked up the helm and looked at it, inspecting it closely, then set it down near his feet.

Jaina hung near the back with the knocked out Gallywix, her arms folded over her chest. She began to pace the platform, listening to the various conversations between the Horde leaders.

Her boots crunched the snow as she walked and the noise soothed her tense nerves.

“Ugh... ow... _what_ is that sound?”

Jaina stopped and looked at the goblin next to her, who was finally beginning to stir.

“Phew and it stopped. Thank you for small miracles.”

Jaina had half a mind to resume her crunching steps, but knelt down by him instead, watching realization dawn in his eyes as he slowly sat up.

“Oh no, not _you_ again! Get back, lady! I don’t need another shiner today.”

Jaina scoffed and shook her head. She held out a hand that Gallywix reluctantly took and she stood, helping him to his feet. He brushed himself off and mumbled a thank you, wandering over to the rest of the group.

“Whoa, that’s...a dead guy. Yeah.”

Sylvanas reached down and gave the goblin’s ear a painful pinch.

“Ow,” he muttered. He turned to Jaina. “All right, well, seems you two were telling the truth about that poor dead bastard. So now what? We just saw a bunch of baddies swarming the steps outside. What’s next? Are more of them gonna come after us elsewhere, too?”

“More than likely, yes,” said Jaina.

“They’re under no one’s control now, as there is no current Lich King,” said Sylvanas.

Talanji looked between Jaina and Sylvanas. “If there’s no Lich King keeping the Scourge in line, what will happen?”

Sylvanas gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. “We fight.”

Talanji looked worried. “Forever?”

Sylvanas nodded and her allies muttered and shook their heads.

“That’s no way to live,” said Rokhan. “There will always be other threats, how are we supposed to deal with all of them?

“We can’t,” said Lilian, her voice calm.

Garona nodded her agreement, adding, “We would have to pick and choose our battles and hope for the best outcome with the fewest amount of losses.”

“It’s not sustainable in the slightest,” said Nathanos, “but for the time being, it’s all we have.”

Sylvanas picked up the Helm of Domination, holding it in the air. When she spoke, her tone was deeply sardonic. “Unless someone wants to step up and put this on and keep the Scourge under control for the rest of their days...”

The group glanced around at one another, several pairs of eyes lingering on Gallywix, who threw up his hands and stepped back.

“Not on your life, Sylvanas. Well, undeath... Whatever.”

Sylvanas smirked and a few of the group shared a chuckle. Nathanos looked at Sylvanas, his expression unreadable, then looked away.

Lor’themar spoke up, amusement in his voice, “Well, Dark Lady, seeing as you were the one to strike him down, perhaps the honor should fall to you.” He raised a tall blond eyebrow at her, his eyes twinkling.

“Hmph,” Sylvanas muttered, setting down the helm. Her tone was rueful. “That’ll be the day. Become what I hate... would be a fitting end for me, I suppose.”

Worry crossed Jaina’s brow and she inhaled sharply. Multiple pairs of eyes looked in her direction, eyebrows raised. Sylvanas smiled at her and Jaina felt her cheeks burning. She cleared her throat.

“Aw, look at that,” Gallywix said, “seems our new friend is worried about _her_ new friend. How sweet.”

Garona smacked him upside the head.

“Gah! What is it with you women and violence today? Something in the Icecrown air or what?” He rubbed the back of his head.

Jaina ignored him and said, “I’m not concerned about a new Lich King, at least not yet. For now, we need to establish peace between our factions or none of this will matter. If we don’t work together, we won’t accomplish anything.”

“Peace is a noble goal, Proudmoore,” Talanji said. “I wish your Alliance had chosen to go that route earlier.”

Jaina looked down, nodding solemnly. Even after Theramore, a part of Jaina still always wished for peace. She thought about what Sylvanas had said to her when they first spoke about the Lich King. She did not want to go down the same path as her father, but as of late, that seemed to be exactly what she was doing. She shook her head at the thought.

Things would be different. She would make sure of it.

“I think we’ve seen enough death for today,” said Ji Firepaw, breaking the silence.

“Agreed,” said Baine. “Let’s get home and decide when and where to meet with the Alliance to begin these peace talks.”

Jaina nodded and said, “I can offer you a portal to Dalaran, but I can’t get you straight back to Zuldazar.”

“No matter,” said Nathanos, “your assistance—here and with proving the Dark Lady’s innocence—is appreciated and will not be forgotten.”

“Thank you.”

Jaina cast a portal to Dalaran and Gallywix jumped through almost immediately, whooping and hollering as he went. The rest began to make their way through as well, leaving Jaina, Sylvanas, and Nathanos still at the Frozen Throne.

Jaina and Sylvanas exchanged a somewhat uncomfortable look as Nathanos lingered. They watched as he strode back over to the body of the Lich King and picked up the helm, examining it closely once again.

“Hm,” he murmured. He set it down carefully and turned back to the two women standing by the portal. He nodded at both of them and stepped through.

Jaina let out the breath she had not realized she had been holding. “What was that about?” she whispered to Sylvanas.

“Not sure,” Sylvanas whispered back. “Perhaps it was nothing, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

Jaina nodded, feeling uneasy. Sylvanas gave her a sympathetic look. “Are you all right? The fighting didn’t open your wound back up, did it?”

She stepped close to Jaina, placing a gentle hand on the mage’s shoulder.

“Ah, no, I’m fine,” Jaina replied. At Sylvanas’ raised eyebrow, she added reassuringly, “I can check when I get home.”

Sylvanas nodded. “I still feel guilty.”

“For what? It was my decision and I’m the one who made the mistake of letting my guard down early. I should have known better.” Jaina looked down a moment before continuing softly, “I was just so relieved to see you able to fight back...”

Sylvanas lifted the mage’s chin. Their eyes met and all Sylvanas could think about was how beautiful Jaina looked. Her blue eyes were shining, her cheeks were just a bit flushed, her lips were curved up in a sweet smile.

Jaina looked up at Sylvanas, wanting nothing more than to pull the banshee into her arms and kiss her deeply. From the look on Sylvanas’ face, Jaina thought that the banshee must feel the same. Jaina closed her eyes, leaning in slightly...

Sylvanas kissed her.

On the cheek.

Jaina inhaled sharply and drew back, beginning to cast a portal to Proudmoore Keep. She needed to get out. “I’ll speak with Anduin in the morning,” she nearly stammered. Her eyes had filled with tears and she prayed they would not fall. “I’m going to turn in early. I’ll see you.”

Sylvanas did not have time to fully comprehend what had happened. It went by so fast and Jaina said something that Sylvanas barely heard and then she was gone.

Left alone at the Frozen Throne, Sylvanas dropped her head to her hands and yelled, the winds bringing the shriek back to her, several times over. Angry at herself, she walked over to the Lich King’s corpse and kicked the helm towards the bottom of the stairs leading to the throne itself. It clattered about, the noise carrying.

Sylvanas sank to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest. She was deeply upset with herself, but it was not for the reason she had initially believed. As she thought about it more, she was angry that she had even attempted to do anything at all.

It was too early, the situation was too uncertain and she knew that. Rocking the boat at all risked everything the Horde and Alliance were fighting for on their own as well as working together to be able to achieve.

Peace talks had not yet started and Sylvanas might have already ruined them. She balled her hands into fists, shaking faintly.

“ _Fuck_!” she yelled and the winds cursed along with her.

She would go to Boralus tonight, she had to. She needed to make things right. She was not certain how, but she would figure something out.

The fate of Azeroth depended on it.

***

Jaina was alone in her room. Her window was open and the cool night air whistled its way in, soothing Jaina. She felt exceedingly warm because of how upset she was.

She had, thankfully, avoided her mother again, who was busy with various meetings from which she was unable to pull herself away. To Jaina’s knowledge, her mother did not even know about her injury and Jaina felt quick tears come to her eyes as she thought about having to explain all of _that_ to Katherine, especially everything regarding Sylvanas.

 _Sylvanas_.

Jaina sobbed then, her heart aching. She replayed what had happened between them. She had been about to take initiative and actually make a move, even with how tenuous the bonds were between the factions, even though they had not begun to discuss any sort of peace.

It had been stupid and careless on her part, Jaina realized. She wondered if Sylvanas had come to the same realization and if that was what prompted the cheek kiss, or, if Sylvanas had only intended to kiss her cheek and Jaina had just imagined that the look on the banshee’s face had meant anything at all.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks. Frustrated and shaken, Jaina found herself wanting to talk to Sylvanas and fix things.

“Fuck,” she murmured. She picked up a book on her desk and slammed it down angrily.

Jaina did not know where to even find Sylvanas. Did she go back to Zuldazar? Orgrimmar? Somewhere else entirely? Perhaps she was still in Dalaran...

The mage did not have time to keep pondering because the banshee swirled in through the window and landed a few feet from her. She gripped her desk to steady herself, taking shaky breaths.

Jaina felt Sylvanas’ eyes on her and she met the banshee’s gaze. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She was afraid to speak, afraid of what admissions might spill from her lips.

Sylvanas held Jaina’s gaze. She wanted to say something, but on the way over, she had not managed to come up with anything that would help. She sighed gently.

“We’re... okay... aren’t we?” Jaina asked suddenly. “Ah, for peace talks maybe starting tomorrow or the next day?”

Sylvanas felt a bit of relief at Jaina’s words and she nodded. “We’re fine.”

The two were silent for a few moments, Sylvanas looking down at her boots while Jaina flipped to a random page in a nearby book. She sighed and closed it.

“We should get some sleep,” she said.

She had changed into her pajamas when she had returned home and had already taken one of the doses of pain medicine that Anduin had sent along and a servant had brought up to her room. She was tired and wanted the day to be over.

“Of course,” Sylvanas said as she watched Jaina climb into bed and pull up the covers.

She turned to go, then looked back to Jaina, seeing the mage regarding her with an exhausted expression.

“Would you mind if I spent the night?” Sylvanas asked. She waved her hands about as she spoke. “It’s late and the trip back to Zuldazar is—“

The banshee stopped speaking suddenly as the mage drew back the blankets on the other side of the bed, giving the mattress a couple of inviting pats.

Sylvanas pulled off her boots and cloak and joined Jaina in the bed, slipping under the covers. She watched Jaina close her eyes, yawning slightly. “How’s that wound doing?” she whispered.

“It’s all right,” Jaina said, her eyes still closed. “Still painful sometimes, but doing better every day.”

Sylvanas nearly reached out to stroke Jaina’s hair, but thought better of it. Instead, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

***

The next morning, Jaina awakened and found herself alone in bed. She knew she would be, but she still found herself hoping otherwise.

She sat up slowly, realizing that she was sweating slightly and her body was heating up, thoughts of Sylvanas running through her head.

She began to imagine living in a simpler time, where Sylvanas could have kissed her the night before without a new relationship possibly destroying the bit of trust the Horde and Alliance were slowly building.

She pictured Sylvanas pulling her close, wrapping strong arms around her, hands in her hair, body pressed against hers.

She moaned then, a deep moan of desire and need and she slipped her hand down her pajama bottoms, down to her nether lips.

Breathing deeply, she touched herself, splaying open her folds, fingertips rubbing everywhere but her clit. She was too hot and she refused to give herself exactly what she needed just yet.

She wanted to imagine Sylvanas with her as long as she could, imagine the banshee’s hands on her, caressing her body, stroking her, sliding a hand between her legs, chilled fingers parting slick lower lips, pushing inside, curling within her...

Jaina gasped then, moving a single finger inside herself, then adding a second and thrusting, twisting, gently within. She took a shuddering breath, closing her eyes. It had been a while since she had taken care of herself and she was hot enough that she knew it would not take much for her to finish.

She leaned back against her pillow, her eyes still closed, Sylvanas still in her head. With a soft moan, she withdrew her fingers, slowly pulling them upwards, towards her clit. Picturing Sylvanas clearly, she finally let her wet fingertips caress the sensitive nub, the sensation drawing a sharp cry from her lips as she trembled.

Gasping, she let her fingers settle into a modest pace, her index and middle fingers rubbing in quick circles, feeling herself grow close.

Sylvanas’ name filled her head, threatening to be pulled from her lips. She cried out, her fingers speeding up, moving closer and closer to the edge. She breathed heavily, sharp cries falling from her lips as she suddenly climaxed and guided herself through the aftershocks, her body shaking. She sank down into her bed, weak and spent, still thinking about Sylvanas.

She sighed deeply as she recovered, then climbed out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. She started the water for a bath and tugged off her pajamas and bandage, kneeling down and absently skimming the water with her fingertips.

She felt relaxed and calm and hoped the feeling would last for a while. The water finished filling and she climbed in, leaning back and closing her eyes.

***

Later, once Jaina had finished her bath, applied a new bandage, and dressed, she sneaked down to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. When she was done, she went back up to her room and cast a portal to Stormwind Keep and stepped through. When she emerged, she pressed a hand to her chest, letting out a soft gasp.

Anduin was speaking with Taelia Fordragon, Bolvar’s daughter. The young woman had tears in her eyes and a broken expression on her face.

The pair turned to Jaina, who stumbled over an apology for intruding and was about to leave through her portal when Taelia addressed her.

“Wait.”

Jaina turned back, inhaling sharply. In the craziness of the past few days and her own selfish desires, Jaina had managed to forget entirely about Bolvar’s daughter. She felt sick and disgusted with herself. What an awful person she was to have swept this sweet girl from her mind.

Her voice trembling, she asked, “Yes?”

“Anduin told me everything,” she said, her voice wavering. “I understand that you had no choice and I mourned my father years ago, I just...” She trailed off, looking down.

Anduin wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she turned to him, resting her hands on his chest, leaning against him as he pulled her close.

Jaina let out a deep breath and looked at Anduin. Taelia seemed to fit in his arms perfectly, like she always belonged there. Bolvar’s daughter would be fine, it would just take time. Taelia had Anduin to help her through, to comfort and guide her and make things easier as much as he could.

Jaina stepped forward and placed shaky hands on their shoulders. Addressing Taelia, she said gently, “I’m so sorry, Taelia. I wish things were different, I wish there could have been a better outcome, I...” She swallowed and whispered, “I’m just so sorry.”

Taelia nodded slightly, her face buried in Anduin’s neck.

“I’ll take my leave,” Jaina murmured and turned back to her portal.

“Jaina?” Anduin called.

Jaina turned to face him.

“We just need to decide on a neutral meeting place so we—“

Jaina held a finger to her lips, shaking her head gently, and Anduin stopped talking.

“We’ll speak later, Anduin.” She nodded to Taelia and said, “Take care of her.”

Anduin returned the nod and tightened his arms around Taelia as her tears began to fall and she burrowed deeper into his chest. He moved a hand to her hair, caressing the locks gently, and tenderly kissed the top of her head.

Jaina looked at them a moment longer, then disappeared through her portal.

When she emerged back in her quarters, she began leafing through tomes, looking for information on the Scourge and possible battle tactics for dealing with them more effectively.

Her thoughts turned to Taelia and she shivered. She knew Anduin was a caring soul and that Taelia was in good hands. Still, though, Jaina felt for her. None of what happened was easy news to digest.

She sighed after a while, leaning back in her chair and resting her eyes. She had nearly nodded off when a knock on her door roused her.

“Come in,” she said, rubbing her temples tiredly.

“Sweetheart.”

Jaina sat up quickly and turned towards the voice. Her mother was standing in the doorway.

“Mother,” she said nervously.

Katherine shut the door and walked over to Jaina’s bed, taking a seat at the edge of it. She was holding a vial of Jaina’s pain medicine. Jaina swallowed.

Katherine turned the vial over in her hand. “Imagine my surprise when I found out from one of our servants that my daughter needed pain medicine for an injury I did not even know she had.”

Jaina’s mouth fell open slightly and she tried to collect her thoughts and put them into a coherent sentence. “I’m sorry,” was all she could come up with and she bit down hard on her lip, irritated with herself, feeling incredibly guilty.

Katherine nodded at her and stood up. “Hm, well, I won’t bother you any longer.” She handed Jaina the vial and turned to leave.

“Mother, please...” Jaina sobbed, rising to her feet.

Katherine turned back around, facing her daughter. Jaina trembled, one hand moving to her father’s pendant around her neck, grasping and holding it tightly, clinging to it like a lifeline.

“Sit down,” she said softly. “I’ll explain everything.”

***

A short while later, Jaina and Katherine sat discussing the details of the story that Jaina had shared.

“So, there was a new Lich King who was controlling the Horde’s Warchief and she came to you for assistance in eliminating him and freeing herself from his control.”

“Yes.”

Katherine shook her head as a deep sigh left her lips. “And now, the Alliance and Horde are hoping to enter into a peace agreement to be able to work together to defeat the Scourge, or at least, keep them at bay. Do I have this right?”

Jaina nodded and Katherine exhaled slowly. Jaina looked at her and Katherine just shook her head again.

“It’s quite the tale, my love.”

Jaina frowned. “Do you not believe me?” Her lower lip quivered and she began to grow upset.

Katherine took Jaina’s hands in hers. “Oh sweetheart, of course I do. This is just... such a terrifying series of events. And to top it all off, you ended up nearly dying to that... monster!” She squeezed Jaina’s hands.

Jaina settled down. She had dreaded this conversation with her mother, but she was relieved it was over. She had tried to remain as neutral as she could when talking about Sylvanas. Telling her mother she had feelings for the banshee was not something that she wished to do, especially when she was not even sure anything would happen between them.

“How are you feeling?” Katherine asked gently, reaching up a hand to caress Jaina’s cheek.

Jaina closed her eyes briefly, leaning into her mother’s touch. “I’m all right,” she said, opening her eyes. “Just trying to work through everything.”

Katherine gave her a sympathetic smile. “You look like you could use a nap, my love.”

Jaina nodded, her face flushing a bit. She held up the vial in her hand. “This stuff is pretty good at knocking me out.”

“Well, there you go,” said Katherine. “Drink up and get some rest. The world will still be there, sweetheart, I promise.”

Jaina downed her medicine in one gulp. She set down the empty vial on her desk and stood from her chair. Her mother stood as well, holding out her arms, and Jaina stepped into them, welcoming her mother’s sweet embrace. They held each other for a few long moments before Katherine stepped back and kissed her daughter’s forehead, then walked to the door.

“I love you, sweetheart,” Katherine said.

“I love you, too.”

“I... have some more questions, my love,” Katherine began, making Jaina inhale sharply, “but I’ll ask them another time.”

They exchanged smiles and Katherine left, pulling the door shut behind her. Jaina let out the breath she had been holding, clutching her desk to steady herself. She forced her nervousness away and decided that she would be completely honest with her mother when they spoke again.

Sighing softly, she began to undress, kicking off her boots and laying her robes and trousers over the back of her chair. Clad in her undergarments, she got into bed, drawing the covers to her chin. As soon as her head hit her pillow, she fell asleep.

***

Sylvanas had made her way back to Orgrimmar at the behest of Zekhan. He had sent word to the Banshee’s Wail that morning, informing Sylvanas there was something important that she needed to be made aware of and requested she meet with him in Grommash Hold.

Sylvanas sat upon her throne, eagerly awaiting Zekhan’s arrival. She heard footsteps and stood as he entered the room.

“Warchief,” he greeted her.

“Zekhan,” she said with a nod. “I’ve not seen you in some time.”

“Indeed. But word gets around about things. I heard about the Lich King, about what happened to you while he was still alive. It brought me comfort to know that those actions were not yours.”

“Thank you,” Sylvanas said.

“Seeing as how what you did while you were being controlled does not represent who you are, I took the liberty of relaying this information to a dear friend...” He gestured towards the doorway.

In walked Varok Saurfang.

Sylvanas’ eyes widened. “Varok,” she murmured.

Saurfang nodded and stepped forward. “We do not need to discuss what has happened over the past few months, exchange words of regret or sorrow. What is important is that the Horde has its honor back, and for that, I am grateful.”

Sylvanas nodded. “If you’ll allow me, I would at least like to apologize and ask that you resume your position as the leader of the orcs.”

Saurfang bowed slightly. “I accept your apology and I would be honored to once again lead my people.”

Sylvanas let out a quiet sigh of relief. She had not known where Saurfang was, had not known what he had been doing for some time. She realized she did not need and furthermore, did not want to know. Dwelling on the past would not bring comfort to anyone, moving forward was the only path.

Zekhan nodded to both of them and took his leave. Sylvanas and Saurfang sat together and discussed the Scourge, how to deal with them, and the upcoming peace talks with the Alliance.

Sylvanas felt a great weight lifted off her shoulders, with Saurfang back in the fold. They chatted for quite some time before Saurfang excused himself, wishing to settle back in.

Sylvanas nodded and watched him go. With a smile, she faded into her banshee form and began to make her way back to Zuldazar.

***

Later that day, after the sun had set, and Jaina had awakened from what had been a rather refreshing nap, she dressed and cast another portal to Stormwind. She hoped that she would be able to speak to Anduin, however briefly, about what lay ahead for the Alliance and Horde.

She stepped through, spying Anduin alone. He smiled when he saw her, beginning to talk quickly and excitedly about Taelia.

“We spent the day together, sharing memories of Bolvar. She told me of the letters she used to receive from him. We had such a great time together, despite all that’s happened.” He caught his breath and said softly, “Oh, Auntie, it was wonderful.”

Jaina smiled warmly, walking over and giving him a friendly hug. “Sounds like you two turned an undesirable situation around. I’m glad to hear it.”

Anduin nodded. “Just talking to her felt... I don’t know how to describe it. It just felt right.”

Jaina found herself grinning at the flush in his cheeks. Licking her lips, she said, “You two make a lovely pair.”

Anduin looked at her suddenly, gulping hard. Jaina’s eyes twinkled teasingly.

“I... maybe... uh... perhaps... when things settle down...”

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Jaina said, chuckling. She patted his shoulder. “You’re both young. You have plenty of time to figure things out.”

Anduin nodded, then said suddenly, “What about you?”

Jaina raised a curious eyebrow. “What about me?”

Anduin seemed to relax a bit and said, “You and... the Warchief.”

Jaina raised both eyebrows in surprise and her mouth fell open. It was her turn to gulp. Anduin chuckled and patted her shoulder. “Neither one of you is young, but you have plenty of time to figure things out.”

Jaina pouted and gave Anduin a light punch in the shoulder as he grinned at her. She sighed. “There’s too much to deal with now,” she said. “Personal feelings... can’t be my focus.”

Anduin nodded his agreement and Jaina gave him a nervous look. She was a bit afraid, but she decided to press him a bit.

“You... saw something between Sylvanas and me?” she asked, her fingers tugging anxiously at her robes.

Anduin nodded again. “Just the way you look at her, the way she looks at you, the way you interact and speak... the two of you undoubtedly care about each other.”

Jaina sighed gently. “We bonded fairly quickly when she visited me last week and when we fought the Lich King.”

“Whatever happens, I just want to see you happy, Auntie. You deserve to be.”

Jaina felt tears in her eyes and she pulled Anduin to her, hugging him again. “Thank you,” she whispered.

She pulled back, linking her arm with his. They set off, walking about Stormwind, exploring the city under cover of darkness, talking quietly about the next steps for the Alliance and Horde, discussing the perfect meeting place for the peace talks.

***

Sylvanas stood on the deck of the Banshee’s Wail, pacing back and forth as Nathanos stood nearby. She was still happy that Saurfang was back, but once that passed, she was back to being stressed about a certain other matter.

“Something troubling you, Dark Lady?”

Sylvanas stopped and faced him. “Little bit,” she said honestly.

“Proudmoore?” he asked.

Sylvanas pursed her lips and Nathanos gave her a knowing look.

“How could you possibly know that?” she asked, exasperated.

He cleared his throat, lifting an eyebrow at her. “You two are... clearly taken with each other.”

“Unbelievable. As if the upcoming peace talks didn’t have me stressed out enough, now I have to worry about this. Does everyone else know, too?”

Nathanos did not answer, just gave her a smirk.

“Great.”

Nathanos let slip an amused chuckle. “Oh, I am going to get an extraordinary amount of enjoyment out of this, my lady.”

Sylvanas just looked at him, then looked away and frowned. “Fuck me,” she muttered under her breath.

Nathanos chuckled again. “I’d recommend asking the lady Proudmoore to assist with that. Certainly going to take a better person than me.” He clapped Sylvanas on the shoulder, then disappeared below deck, leaving Sylvanas to ponder the rather ridiculous existence she led.

She swallowed then, thinking about Nathanos’ words. The two of them had always been close, had even had a bit of a dalliance while they were still alive. She had risked much to assure he remained by her side and their affection and respect for one another had not faded, even if their romantic relationship had long since fallen by the wayside.

Their time together had been pleasant, but now Sylvanas simply valued his friendship, council, and his skill in battle. She hoped there were no hard feelings between them, no bad blood or bitterness.

She could not tell if his seemingly amused comments were just that, or if he was being deeply sarcastic to try and hide his pain. She hoped it was the former, as she neither wanted to deal with the fallout if he still cared for her romantically, nor did she want to deal with the guilt of having feelings for Jaina.

 _Jaina_.

She felt a stirring in her chest as her thoughts turned to the mage. She wondered if Jaina had had the chance to speak with Anduin about a location. Earlier, she gathered her allies again and suggested the Frozen Throne as their meeting place. It was neutral and the Alliance would be able to see the results of what had transpired several days prior.

Her allies had all agreed that was the perfect place to meet and all that remained was suggesting it to Anduin and his allies to see if they would agree, or if they had another place in mind.

She looked up at the night sky. It was going to be getting late soon and Jaina would likely be getting ready for bed.

She smiled to herself, thinking about Jaina shedding her robes and slipping into her pajamas. She was excited to see the mage tonight. She hoped she could use the same excuse of Zuldazar being too far to stay with her again.

Even if it would be wildly inappropriate to act on her feelings now, she could still enjoy spending time with Jaina.

Grinning wickedly, Sylvanas swirled into her banshee form and began to make her way to Boralus.

***

When Sylvanas arrived, she lingered outside the open window, peering in. She had almost perfect timing, but not quite. Jaina had just finished changing into her pajamas and was buttoning up her top.

Sylvanas waited until Jaina began walking to her bed before she entered the room. Jaina looked at her and Sylvanas smiled.

“I wanted to see you before you turned in tonight,” Sylvanas said.

Jaina’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh?”

Sylvanas nodded. “I talked to my friends and we agreed that the Frozen Throne would be the ideal meeting place.”

Jaina’s heart sank. “Oh.”

Sylvanas’ eyes widened a bit, as she realized how she must have sounded to Jaina. “I... also wanted to just see you. See how you’re doing, chat for a bit, maybe... spend the night again. Long way back to Zuldazar.”

Jaina felt dizzy and light. She smiled at Sylvanas. “Of course you can stay.” She made her way over to her bed and slipped under the covers on her side, then drew back the covers on the other side, patting the mattress as she had done the night before.

Once again, Sylvanas removed her boots and cloak and got into bed, pulling the covers over her.

“How’s that wound doing?”

“Better still,” Jaina said. “Pain medicine certainly helps.”

Sylvanas threw caution to the wind then and reached out to stroke Jaina’s hair.

Jaina lay still, nervousness settling into the pit of her stomach. Sylvanas had moved her hand to Jaina’s cheek, caressing it tenderly.

“So,” Sylvanas began, her voice soft and low, making Jaina shiver as a wave of desire swept over her, “what are your thoughts on meeting in Icecrown?”

Jaina sighed, disappointed, trying to push back her feelings for the woman lying next to her. She cleared her throat and said, “Anduin and I came to the same conclusion.”

Sylvanas raised both long eyebrows at Jaina. “I’d say this bodes well for a chance at peace. We already agree on where to meet.” She smiled at Jaina, still stroking the mage’s cheek.

Jaina returned the smile. She was unsure what was happening between the two of them right now, but she decided she was going to enjoy it. “I’ll meet with Anduin tomorrow morning. Perhaps, we can all agree to meet tomorrow evening in Icecrown?”

“Sounds good, darling.”

Jaina melted, closing her eyes. She drifted off to sleep, feeling content.

***

The next morning, Jaina awoke to an empty bed once again. She stood and began to head into the bathroom when she noticed a folded note on her bedside table. She picked it up with trembling fingers and opened it.

_Looking forward to seeing you tonight, darling._

_-S_

She set the note down, happiness flooding through her. She floated on a cloud the rest of the morning.

***

Sylvanas tugged her boots on while Nathanos secured his bow on his back. It was early evening and the rest of the Horde leaders were already in Icecrown. They had secured a portal from a local mage and were preparing to make their way through to join their allies.

Sylvanas looked at Nathanos for a long moment. He turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “Something wrong, my lady?”

Shaking her head, Sylvanas said, “I hope not. I wanted to clear the air before we left.”

Nathanos narrowed his eyes in confusion. “All right...”

Sylvanas swallowed. “I... have feelings for Jaina Proudmoore,” she said slowly.

Nathanos chuckled lightly. “I’m aware. We talked about this yesterday. Your memory isn’t going, is it?”

Sylvanas frowned, her expression serious. “I want to know if this changes anything for the two of us.”

Nathanos shook his head. “Of course not, my lady. Our time is past. Now, I live to serve and advise you, and I am quite content to do so.”

Sylvanas felt a bit emotional and she nodded. “Thank you. You’re a true friend.”

“As are you.”

“Well,” Sylvanas said after a few long moments, I suppose we should get going.”

“Quite right.” He gestured towards the portal. “After you, my lady.”

Sylvanas stepped through, Nathanos following close behind.

***

Jaina had conjured a portal for the various Alliance leaders. Gelbin Mekkatorque was still in a coma, but there were still a fair number of Alliance leaders making the journey to Icecrown. Coming to the peace talks were Anduin, Genn, Prophet Velen, the members of the Council of Three Hammers, Aysa Cloudsinger, Mathias Shaw, Tyrande Whisperwind, Malfurion Stormrage, Turalyon, and Alleria Windrunner.

Jaina was unsure how Alleria and Sylvanas would react upon seeing one another again. She hoped they would be civil, but tensions probably still existed.

Taking a deep breath, she followed her friends and allies through the portal.

The steps of Icecrown Citadel were covered with many more Scourge corpses than there had been previously. Jaina felt a smile on her lips. The Horde were here and they had done battle.

Jaina took the lead and walked into the Citadel first, while everyone else followed behind. They took the teleporters and emerged on the platform surrounding the Frozen Throne.

The group of Horde and the group of Alliance looked upon each other, several members of each nodding silent greetings, but regarding one another warily.

Alleria stepped in front of everyone, her eyes falling upon her sister. She stood with her arms folded over her chest, locking eyes with the banshee.

Sylvanas took a step closer, hands clasped casually behind her back and regarded her older sister with a kind, but neutral expression, trying to gauge how Alleria felt.

Alleria sighed then and gave Sylvanas a weary nod, then stepped back into the crowd. Sylvanas smiled faintly and moved to where she could see both groups clearly and began to speak.

“I want to tell you all how much I appreciate your being here. As you can see,” she gestured to the Lich King’s corpse, “the Lich King is no longer with us, and as you’ve no doubt noticed from the piles of bodies outside, the Scourge are on their own and will no doubt be attacking us from multiple fronts soon.”

Anduin walked over and stood beside her. “Right, which means we need to decide how to assign our forces to fight back against them.”

“Before we can do that, however, we all must agree to a ceasefire with each other,” Sylvanas said.

Anduin nodded. “Joining forces and setting aside our differences is the only way we’ll be able to succeed.”

“Now,” Sylvanas began, “you all agreed to at least discuss the idea of peace, but I imagine that not everyone will be immediately on board with a ceasefire, so I’d like to hear everyone’s concerns and we’ll go from there.”

“Agreed,” said Anduin. “I know that feelings about what’s happened recently as well as in the past still linger within many of you. The Warchief and I want to ease your minds however we can.”

“Tell us what you need and the King and I will try our best to make things right.”

The groups spoke amongst each other for a bit, then began addressing Sylvanas and Anduin. One by one, concerns were listed off while the two main leaders vowed to deal with them.

After some time, everyone had had a turn to speak and they were considering the discussions that had taken place. Anduin and Sylvanas were speaking with each other while the various other leaders and members of their respective factions looked on and spoke amongst themselves.

Jaina had already spoken and was sitting near the edge of the platform away from everyone else. The talks were going well, but she could not shake the nervousness and the headache that she had.

She sighed, closing her eyes briefly, then opened them. She watched Sylvanas, listened to her speak, her face flushing a bit. Afraid that people may be watching her, might be suspicious of how she was regarding the Warchief, she dropped her gaze, pretending to be interested in a speck of snow on her boots.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Gallywix wandering over and she groaned slightly as he sat down next to her. He casually bumped her shoulder with his.

“You like her, right?” he asked.

Jaina turned to him, feeling a knot form uncomfortably in her stomach. “What?”

“The Warchief. The Dark Lady. The Banshee Queen... Sylvanas!” He gestured grandly towards the banshee. When Jaina shook her head, Gallywix tilted his head at her and tugged lightly at her sleeve. “Come on, kid.”

Jaina fought the urge to stand and move away, but she was afraid of drawing attention to either of them. She felt her shoulders trembling slightly. Anduin had brought up Sylvanas as well. Was it really this clear to outsiders that she and Sylvanas had feelings for one another?

“Some of us have talked about it, ya know.”

Apparently it was. Jaina’s face felt hot and she asked, “Who?” Groaning and shaking her head again, she said, “I mean, about what?”

Gallywix smiled at her, giving her knee a friendly pat. “A lot of us. It’s obvious.”

Jaina looked down. She debated between continuing to play dumb and speaking openly. She chose the former. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Gallywix.”

Gallywix sighed. “You afraid?”

Jaina swallowed hard. It felt as though he was reading her like a book. She drew her hood over her head and looked away, hiding her face. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and she fought to keep them at bay.

“It’s okay to be afraid,” Gallywix said with a surprising gentleness. “No one likes rejection. You put your heart on the line and the one you like either takes it and keeps it and gives you theirs to take and keep, or they fling yours off a cliff and destroy your spirit.”

Jaina forced herself to nod in agreement, but she was still about to cry. She looked up and found that Anduin and Baine were conversing now while Sylvanas stood nearby and listened intently. She looked towards Jaina then, giving her a soft, warm smile before turning back to Baine and Anduin. Jaina sighed involuntarily, melting completely.

“That, right there,” Gallywix whispered. “It’s those looks between you two. We’ve noticed, all of us.”

Jaina turned to him then, terrified. “All...?” She swallowed again.

Gallywix nodded. “Yeah. I mean, you two are hardly discreet.”

Jaina laughed then, covering her mouth to muffle the sound. Thankfully, it seemed no one had heard her, apart from Gallywix.

“So what are you guys waitin’ for? Go for it. Life is short, you only live once, all that jazz.” He considered for a moment. “Well, I guess life is short for you and not for Sylvanas... and she’s lived more than once...” He looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook his head, waving a hand about. “Eh, it doesn’t matter. You get what I’m sayin’, right, kid?”

Jaina pulled her hood down, shaking her braid free and looked at Gallywix, smiling at him. “Yeah, I get what you’re saying.”

“Time’s a wastin’! Get to it!”

Jaina shook her head. “Not yet. Not until we’ve settled on a peace agreement.”

Gallywix frowned. “Fair enough.”

They sat together in silence for a bit.

Jaina turned to him after a while and whispered, “Thanks.”

“Eh, don’t mention it. You two have been sweet on each other this whole week, felt like I had to say somethin’.”

“Have you talked to Sylvanas as well?”

Gallywix shook his head vigorously. “Hell no. That woman scares the crap out of me.”

Jaina covered her mouth to hide her smirk. “What about me? I gave you a black eye. I don’t scare you?”

“Ehhh...”

Jaina grinned.

“I deserved that black eye. I was being an ass, per usual.”

Jaina raised an eyebrow. “That’s... surprisingly self-aware coming from you.”

He gave her a wink. “I have my moments, kid.”

“That you do,” Jaina agreed.

The two had been so lost in their conversation that they had failed to notice that the discussion between their respective allies had ended until cheers and thunderous applause assaulted their ears.

Gallywix jumped to his feet. “Is that it? Did we do it? Do we like each other now or what?”

Jaina stood as well. She caught Sylvanas’ eye and grinned at her.

Sylvanas licked her lips and grinned back at the mage. A weight had lifted off her shoulders, but she was still uncertain. She had half a mind to close the distance between them, sweep the mage into her arms, and kiss her passionately.

She resisted. The time would come, she had to make sure that this peace worked out, that they were able to figure out exactly how to split their forces to most efficiently battle the Scourge. She sighed and turned back to everyone else, deciding, for now, to enjoy the moment.

Jaina walked over to Sylvanas and stood next to her, thoroughly enjoying the enthusiastic display from their allies.

Drawing in a shaky breath, she reached for Sylvanas’ hand and grasped it, squeezing it tightly. Sylvanas looked at her and their eyes met. Jaina smiled and, after a moment, Sylvanas returned it.

In full view of everyone, even though no one seemed to be looking at them, Jaina pressed a kiss to the side of Sylvanas’ mouth, recalling the kiss she’d placed there after they had defeated the Lich King.

She considered kissing Sylvanas outright, but it still seemed to be too soon. They had not yet divided their armies and assigned them posts to keep the Scourge back. There was still work to do and Jaina needed to make sure everything went smoothly.

For now, though, she felt better, felt at ease. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, content to savor the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Sylvaina is coming. I actually already wrote it like four or five days ago—still tweaking it here and there—and I’ve been struggling not to have these two rip their clothes off every time they look at each other because omfg I can barely stand it and I’m the one in the driver’s seat of this damn story.
> 
> Whew.
> 
> Btw, the part I mentioned in the beginning note for this chapter that got pushed to the next chapter was the Sylvaina. I’M SORRY. :(
> 
> Anyway, next part incoming hopefully soonish. Thanks for reading this far. <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I’m yours, darling,” she said. “Do with me what you will.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup.
> 
> YUP.
> 
> Bring a towel. <3

With the peace talks over, the leaders of the Horde and Alliance put their heads together to discuss how to best divide and conquer the threat of the Scourge.

They decided that the Horde would primarily focus on defending hot spots in Kalimdor, while the Alliance would defend the Eastern Kingdoms and both factions would lend a fair amount of troops to Northrend.

They talked late into the evening, everyone contributing their ideas spiritedly, members from both factions encouraging the others’ visions.

Jaina thought it was almost unbelievable how quickly they had all taken to each other in their quest to keep the Scourge from destroying Azeroth.

The thought made her shiver. If this was the only reason they were all being civil, then, should they somehow defeat the Scourge entirely or appoint a new Lich King to control the Scourge, things may go back to how they were, Horde and Alliance fighting each other.

She hoped that was not the case. She could get used to an actual peace between the factions. It would certainly ease much of the stress that she had been carrying for years. She had told herself she would not go down the path her father did, would not let herself be consumed by hatred.

This was an important first step, assuming the peace remained. She looked around at all of her new allies. They were dedicated to keeping Azeroth safe and Jaina felt tears of happiness in her eyes. She wiped them away gently and looked at Sylvanas, deep in conversation with her sister, Anduin, and Lor’themar, discussing strategy.

She smiled gently, then stifled a sudden yawn. She waited for a lull in the conversation to approach Sylvanas and Anduin, letting them know that she was exhausted and going to take her leave.

Before they could respond, Nathanos spoke up out of nowhere. “What exactly were we planning to do with _him_?” he asked, wrinkling his nose at Bolvar’s body.

Sylvanas glanced at Jaina, finding her looking a bit sick. She rubbed the mage’s back briefly, hoping to be of some comfort, then dropped her hand.

“I would imagine burning the remains is our best option,” the banshee said.

Jaina nodded solemnly. “If you all agree, I would like to give his ashes to his daughter, Taelia Fordragon, if she wishes to have them.”

Anduin gave Jaina’s arm a gentle squeeze. “I think she’d appreciate the gesture.”

Everyone murmured their agreement and Jaina said, “Then it’s settled. Tonight was about new beginnings and celebrations and I’m honestly exhausted. I’ll come back tomorrow with an urn and take care of this.”

She began casting multiple portals, Dalaran, Boralus, Stormwind, and Ironforge. She turned to everyone and said, her voice thick with emotion, “You don’t know how much it means to me to see all of us banding together to protect our world. Thank you, everyone, from the bottom of my heart.” She bowed slightly and was nearly moved to tears when everyone else bowed as well. “Good night. I look forward to working with and battling alongside all of you very soon.”

“Hear, hear!” called Lor’themar, and the crowd echoed his sentiment.

Jaina smiled and cast a portal directly to Proudmoore Keep for herself. She looked back at everyone, seeing hands being shaken, shoulders being given friendly pats, and even a few hugs being exchanged. She caught Sylvanas’ eye and the banshee walked over.

They exchanged somewhat sheepish smiles and Jaina asked, “Will I see you tonight?”

Sylvanas smirked and wiggled a long eyebrow at her. “You got my note, didn’t you?”

Jaina looked down, blushing. “I... figured you meant the meeting tonight.”

Sylvanas just shook her head and smiled. Jaina felt her heart begin to thump quickly in her chest.

“I’ll... see you soon, then?”

Sylvanas nodded. “As soon as Anduin and I finish conversing with everyone, I’ll be on my way.”

“I’ll wait up.” Jaina’s lips parted slightly and she trembled a bit, a desperate feeling of want beginning to course through her.

Sylvanas gazed upon Jaina, witnessing the mage’s naked desire for her. Her voice low and sultry, she said, “Please do.”

Sylvanas watched as a deep shiver ran through Jaina as the mage stepped through her portal.

Sylvanas, feeling bold just a few moments before, now felt extremely nervous, an unpleasant wave of nausea passing over her. Tonight, everything would become real. Tonight, she would finally be able to act on how she felt about Jaina.

She had been wanting this and right now she was damn sure Jaina wanted it as well, so why was she still afraid? The peace talks had gone even better than expected, with everyone putting their heads together to plan their attacks.

That was what she had wanted, that was what she had been waiting for, but now that it had happened, Sylvanas was faced with reality, the reality of having feelings for Lady Jaina Proudmoore, Lord Admiral of Kul Tiras.

Dark Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, Warchief of the Horde, was terrified. She swallowed hard. She had admitted to Nathanos how she felt about Jaina, but she was unsure how to even approach the woman herself. She had spent several nights in the mage’s bed without a second thought and now the thought of doing so filled her with dread.

She shook her head, groaning to herself. She was being ridiculous, she knew. This would probably be one of the easiest things she would ever do, confessing her feelings to Jaina, but her overactive mind threatened to make it impossible.

She wandered back over to the crowd, trying to relax and put herself at ease by listening to strategy talks.

She would figure something out, she told herself. She would be fine.

She hoped...

Sighing, she observed her friends and new allies still making plans. Even with Jaina’s portals available, no one seemed quite ready to depart just yet.

Sylvanas heard Mathias Shaw going over a plan for several stealth attacks with Lilian Voss and Garona Halforcen that would take place in Northrend.

She turned her attention to Baine and Saurfang, discussing plans of attack in Kalimdor.

Near her, Anduin was walking around to multiple small groups, checking in on plans and offering suggestions where they made sense. Sylvanas decided to do the same and soon, the chatter had died down and people were beginning to stifle yawns, clearly tired.

Gallywix spoke up. “Well, I think we did some great work tonight, guys, but we all need our beauty sleep.” He glanced about the platform, eyes lingering on Nathanos and Baine, and muttered, “Some of us more than others...” He gave everyone a wave. “See ya on the frontlines! Uh... from a safe distance... Toodles!” Gallywix hopped through the Dalaran portal.

Lor’themar scoffed, then shrugged his shoulders. “I hate to say it, but that bloated carcass is right. We do need to rest. Tomorrow is a big day. I bid you all good night and good hunting.” He gave them all a little salute, then disappeared through the portal as well.

Nodding and murmuring their agreement, the rest of the Horde and Alliance made use of Jaina’s portals and headed home.

Before long, only Sylvanas and Nathanos still lingered.

“Going home?” he asked.

“Not exactly...” Sylvanas said, ducking her head.

Nathanos smiled at her. “Of course. The lady Proudmoore eagerly awaits.”

Sylvanas returned the smile. Nathanos walked over to the stairs by the throne and picked up the helm that Sylvanas had angrily kicked two nights ago. She watched as he carefully turned it over in his hands, considering it once again. She felt uneasy watching him. She had seen him pick it up multiple times and she wondered what it meant. Biting her lip nervously, she decided to ask.

“You keep looking at the helm.”

Nathanos seemed lost in thought and turned to her after a moment. “I’m sorry?”

“The helm,” she said, walking over to him. “You’ve looked at it more than anyone else. It’s a bit unnerving, if I’m being honest.” She gave him a worried look.

Nathanos looked back down at the helm in his hands. “I’ve... been doing some thinking these past couple of days.”

Sylvanas swallowed and she stepped closer to him, putting a hand on his arm. “No,” she said.

Nathanos smiled a bit sadly. “It may not be necessary, my lady. Perhaps we can, in fact, sustain a large-scale war against the Scourge indefinitely.” His smile faded. He and Sylvanas both knew that would not be the case and they would need a contingency plan before they ended up losing too many troops on both sides.

Sylvanas took the helm from him and set it down. “We’ve not yet begun to fight,” she said. “Let’s not put the cart before the horse.”

Nathanos nodded. “All I’m saying, my lady, is that if we need a new Lich King, sometime in the future, I volunteer to put on the helm.”

Sylvanas squeezed his arm, shaking faintly. She looked into his eyes and he smiled kindly at her, sweeping her into his arms and embracing her as she wept on his shoulder.

“It’ll be all right, my lady,” he said soothingly. “I’ll wear it well, if and when the time comes.” He pulled back and looked into her eyes, giving her a lopsided grin. “If nothing else, it’ll cover up this ugly mug of mine.”

She laughed then and he joined her, touching his forehead to hers. Tears were cascading down her cheeks and Nathanos gently wiped them away with soft hands.

“There has to be another way,” she murmured. “Surely, someone else could—“

Nathanos shook his head and she stopped mid-sentence. “There’s no other way and there’s no other person. This will be my burden, my lady. This will be how I serve permanently, protecting our world from one of the greatest threats it has ever known.”

Sylvanas nodded and hugged him again, burying her face in his shoulder. He held her for some time, neither of them speaking. After a while, he drew back and looked at her, smiling. She forced herself to smile as well, but her good mood from the successful peace talks was gone.

Nathanos squeezed her shoulders. “Go on,” he said, his eyes twinkling, “your lady Proudmoore has been waiting long enough, and I don’t mean tonight.”

Sylvanas knew he was right, about everything he had said. They _would_ need a Lich King, he _was_ a perfectly ideal candidate for succeeding Bolvar, and Jaina _had_ been waiting a while. They both had, in fact.

She would put this conversation in the back of her mind for the time being, push away the thought of potentially losing a dear friend in the future, and instead focus on the woman she had fallen for, who had fallen for her as well. She deserved that much, she deserved at least a small bit of happiness.

She exchanged a kind look with Nathanos and gave him a nod. He winked at her and she smiled, then she disappeared through the portal to Dalaran.

***

It was late and Sylvanas had still not shown up. Jaina had been sitting at her desk with her nose in a book for a while, but she was starting to get more antsy and more sleepy.

She stood and walked over to her dresser and withdrew a pair of maroon pajamas. She undressed, the chill from her open window making her shiver. Mostly naked, she looked outside, wondered if Sylvanas was nearby, wondered if the banshee might enter her room before she had dressed, wondered what reaction she might make Sylvanas have if the banshee were to see her like this. She was nervous and excited and she stared out the window a moment longer, then pulled on her pajama bottoms and her top, leaving three buttons open.

She walked over to her bed and sat on the edge of it, deciding to wait a bit longer. She was trembling a bit. Sylvanas was, hopefully, going to be in her room, once again. This time, though, Jaina hoped they would be doing more than awkwardly avoiding touching and embracing one another when they so very badly wanted to be together.

She sighed and lifted her top, running a hand along the scar on her side. She had taken off her bandage earlier and not bothered applying another. It did not seem as though she needed one anymore.

The scar was still healing, but more than likely, she would have at least the hint of a mark by which to remember the Lich King.

It did not matter to her. She was not vain, she did not care what she looked like. She found herself wondering, though, if Sylvanas had a similar scar from when Arthas had struck her down. She traced the mark again, closing her eyes, picturing Sylvanas in her mind, imagined running her fingers along the banshee’s pale blue-gray skin, imagined the banshee running her own fingers along her body, feeling her, kissing her...

She shivered and inhaled sharply, heat beginning to build within her. She felt flushed and hoped that Sylvanas would arrive soon.

As if on cue, Sylvanas swooped in through the window, landing near Jaina’s desk. She removed her cloak and boots as she had grown accustomed to doing, setting them down by the edge of Jaina’s bed.

Jaina watched her for a moment, then looked down, feeling nervous.

Sylvanas regarded the mage, illuminated by candlelight. She was wearing pajamas that looked to be made of silk, the breeze coming in through the window making it whisper against her skin.

Licking her lips slightly, the banshee noticed several buttons undone on Jaina’s top and the barest hint of a smile twisted her mouth. Jaina was still looking down at her lap and Sylvanas took the opportunity to drink in the curves of Jaina’s breasts, the warm, peach skin glowing under the light of the candles about the room.

“Tonight went well,” Sylvanas commented. She had mostly pushed her conversation with Nathanos out of her mind and was ready to focus on Jaina. She needed this, she needed to be with this woman.

Right now, nothing else mattered.

Jaina forced herself to murmur her agreement. She did not want to talk about the meeting, did not want to think about the Scourge. For the time being, she only wanted to think about Sylvanas and she only wanted Sylvanas to think about her.

“How’s that wound doing?” Sylvanas asked then, as she always did, smiling at Jaina.

Jaina sighed. “We’ve been doing this dance for a few days now,” she said quietly.

Sylvanas quirked a long eyebrow in the mage’s direction. “‘Dance’?”

“Yes,” Jaina said, frustration creeping into her voice. “Every night you ask about the wound and every night I answer, and then we go to sleep and you’re gone before I wake up.” She was upset. They seemed to make so much progress just today, and especially earlier tonight. Were they really going to go backwards now?

Sylvanas began to turn back to the window, feeling hurt. “If you don’t want me here, Jaina, I can leave...”

“I don’t want you to leave,” Jaina burst out.

Sylvanas peered at her curiously and asked softly, “Then... what _do_ you want?”

Jaina’s lower lip trembled. She was deeply afraid, afraid of scaring Sylvanas off, afraid of making the banshee want to leave, afraid of never seeing this woman again.

She drew in a shaky breath, her body shivering with equal parts fear and desire. She looked into the banshee’s eyes, suddenly feeling emotional. As she held Sylvanas’ gaze, she felt her nerve begin to slip away and she shook her head, trying to hang on to it.

She searched Sylvanas’ eyes and face, trying to find something, anything, that meant the banshee felt as strongly as she did.

Sighing angrily, she decided to make the move she should have made days ago.

“Fuck it,” she whispered, standing and reaching Sylvanas in a single stride. Before Sylvanas could react, she clasped the banshee’s face in her hands and pulled her close, kissing her deeply and passionately, slipping her tongue past chilled lips, venturing into Sylvanas’ mouth.

Sylvanas responded to the kiss in kind, slipping her hands into silky white hair that fluttered around Jaina’s shoulders.

All thoughts of Nathanos left her.

Her fingers gently stroked Jaina’s neck and she felt the mage shiver at her touch. She began walking the two of them over to Jaina’s bed and they fell upon it, still kissing.

After a couple short minutes, Jaina pulled back slightly, breathless and wanting. The kiss had been everything she wanted and everything she did not know she needed, but she still wanted and needed more. She wanted Sylvanas’ hands on her, needed to be touched by this enigma in her bed.

Tentatively, Jaina sat up and began unbuttoning her pajama top and gasped softly when Sylvanas reached out a hand to stop her.

“Allow me,” the banshee whispered and slowly began to open the rest of the buttons on Jaina’s top. The buttons undone, Sylvanas ran a single finger from the top of Jaina’s chest, down between her breasts, and ending past her stomach, just above the waist of the mage’s pajama bottoms.

Jaina was shaking. Her top, despite being unbuttoned, still concealed her breasts, though a quick glance down revealed stiff nipples pressing against the soft silk.

Sylvanas reached up a hand and pushed a thumb to a nipple over Jaina’s top. The mage responded instantly, chest rising and falling with each quick breath. Sylvanas lightly touched Jaina’s breast through her top, caressing the gentle swell as her thumb moved in slow circles about the sensitive nipple.

Sylvanas lifted her other hand and gently pushed the top off of Jaina’s right shoulder, letting it slip away, exposing a soft breast and the scar below it from the Lich King.

Sylvanas brushed Jaina’s other nipple with her thumb, drawing forth a soft moan. Her hand closed around Jaina’s breast, massaging it as her palm rubbed against the almost painfully hard nipple.

Jaina continued to moan and she shrugged off her top completely, taking Sylvanas’ right hand in both of hers and pressing it back over her now naked breast. Sylvanas squeezed it in her hand, giving it a tender massage.

Jaina tugged at Sylvanas’ armor, pulling her closer, kissing her again. She savored the cool temperature of Sylvanas’ lips and hands, finding the chill to be the perfect counterpoint to her own warm flesh.

Sylvanas pulled back first this time, giving Jaina’s lower lip a teasing bite, then dropping her left hand to the scar the Lich King had left.

Her fingers traced the line and she watched as Jaina’s eyes drifted closed. She bent forward, pushing Jaina back a bit against the pillows and brushing her lips over Jaina’s neck, kissing the tiny hint of a scar that remained after she had cut Jaina with her dagger days before.

She kissed the other side of Jaina’s neck, drawing out more soft moans and making Jaina slip trembling hands into her hair.

Sylvanas pulled back then, giving Jaina a smile as she began removing her armor.

Jaina rose to her knees to help, tugging off pauldrons adorned with skulls and spikes, then pulling off bracers and gloves made of a soft but strong material. Sylvanas removed her greaves, leaving her chest plate as her only piece of armor remaining.

Jaina swallowed, grasping Sylvanas’ chest piece and carefully helping the banshee remove it, setting it and her other armor down on the floor next to her boots.

Sylvanas sat casually on Jaina’s bed, leaning against the pillows, regarding the mage with half-lidded eyes.

Jaina felt Sylvanas’ gaze on her and she let her own eyes rake appreciatively over the banshee’s bare chest and stomach, drifting over the curves and swells of Sylvanas’ breasts and hips, the taut muscles of her abdomen. She was surprised to see Sylvanas’ skin free of a long scar that would have been from Arthas’ blade, but there were small scars and marks from what Jaina assumed were other battles, likely taking place after Sylvanas had become undead.

“May I?” Jaina breathed, her hands twitching nervously in her lap, wanting to touch Sylvanas.

Sylvanas chuckled. “I’m yours, darling,” she said. “Do with me what you will.”

Jaina felt her body heat up at Sylvanas’ words and she carefully climbed on top of her, straddling the banshee’s legs.

Sylvanas rested her hands on Jaina’s thighs, rubbing her through the pajamas she still wore. She sat up then, letting her hands slide up Jaina’s legs to her hips as she leaned forward, once again kissing the scar on Jaina’s neck. “I’m sorry I gave you that,” she murmured against the mage’s skin.

Jaina let out a soft sigh and stroked Sylvanas’ hair, her fingertips brushing against the cool skin of the banshee’s neck. “I’m not,” Jaina said and the banshee lifted her head to look at the mage inquisitively, their lips mere inches from each other.

Jaina moved a hand to Sylvanas’ face, caressing her cheek and drawing her into a kiss.

“Scars don’t bother me,” Jaina whispered when she pulled back. “They tell stories.” She smiled gently and shrugged her shoulders. “I like stories.”

Sylvanas smiled back and tenderly pressed her lips to Jaina’s before drawing back and kissing her neck again. She left soft kisses along Jaina’s shoulder, ran her fingertips over the gooseflesh on Jaina’s arm, linking their fingers together as she kissed her way down to the mage’s hand, leaving a gentle kiss on her palm.

Jaina breathed in, moving a hand to Sylvanas’ stomach, stroking well-defined muscles, watching as Sylvanas trembled at her touch.

Sylvanas moved her hands to Jaina’s back and flipped the two of them over, laying atop the mage and kissing her deeply.

Jaina moaned into Sylvanas’ mouth, moving her hands between them, tweaking a nipple with her fingertips, relishing the quiet moan that escaped Sylvanas’ lips.

Sylvanas lifted herself to her knees and bent down to draw a sensitive nipple between her lips as she caressed one of Jaina’s legs through her pajamas. She moved her hand between the mage’s legs as she turned her attention to Jaina’s other nipple, nibbling it with her teeth, then licking the underside of the mage’s breast.

Sylvanas trailed chilled fingers up Jaina’s thigh and pressed three of them against her crotch, rubbing back and forth.

The friction excited Jaina and she thrust her hips towards Sylvanas’ hand and moved her own hands down to pull off her pajamas. Sylvanas stopped rubbing the mage and tugged off Jaina’s pajamas, tossing them somewhere over her shoulder. She placed her hand back where it had been, this time rubbing the heel of her hand against Jaina through her panties, watching as the mage brought her hands to her mouth to muffle her cries.

Jaina struggled to remember the last time she had been affected like this. Arthas and Kalecgos had been kind and considerate lovers and being with them had felt wonderful and sweet, and even though there was a sweetness here as well, there was something about Sylvanas that sparked a more visceral and intense reaction within her and she loved it.

And Light, did she ever need it. Jaina had been so stressed and worked up in the years since Theramore and the years since she and Kalecgos had parted. She had not been with anyone since, had not felt that she was ready to be in another relationship, was not confident enough to participate in any one night stands. Her only solace, then, had been her own hand and, as good as she could make herself feel, it paled in comparison to having a lover, to sharing a bed with someone who wanted her.

Sylvanas trailed her mouth along Jaina’s quivering stomach, her lips leaving gentle kisses in their wake. The banshee found herself deeply enjoying her exploration of Jaina’s body. The mage was alternately soft and firm, with a bit of muscle here and there and she felt incredible to touch and lick and kiss.

Sylvanas had been with many over her thousand years, but few could compare to the woman she was making love to now. She could not make sense of it, why she felt how she did with Jaina, someone who, up until a few short days ago, had been an enemy and not someone with whom Sylvanas could have ever imagined being.

With a gentle sigh and a kiss directly above Jaina’s lower lips, Sylvanas carefully pulled back her hand and hooked her fingers into the waistband of Jaina’s panties, whipping them off and flinging them over her shoulder. She took the opportunity to remove her own underwear and flung those away as well. She looked up at Jaina, finding the mage with her eyes closed, shaking faintly, her breathing shallow.

Jaina opened her eyes then, feeling deeply excited, shivering as she anticipated Sylvanas’ touch, but she was also a bit uneasy. She wanted Sylvanas badly, but it had been so long since she had been with anyone that she began to feel a bit emotional.

She trembled as Sylvanas looked into her eyes as the banshee’s cool fingers rubbed her lower lips and then, with exceedingly light feather touches, stroked her open, middle finger brushing her clit. She brought a hand to her mouth, soft cries tumbling out of her, and bit down on a knuckle.

Sylvanas climbed up Jaina’s body, smiling and kissing the hand by her mouth, then capturing her lips in a sweet kiss.

The banshee found herself thinking about how she had gone so long without making a move on Jaina. It had been a week, but it felt like an eternity.

She had wanted to make sure their respective factions had reached an agreement, but the longer she waited, the more frayed her nerves became and the more afraid she was of risking the tenuous friendship and alliance they had formed. Furthermore, the longer she waited without doing anything, the more uncertain she became that Jaina even felt the same way. Earlier tonight, it had seemed as though they were finally on the same page, but even then, Sylvanas had doubts.

The mage had kissed her—twice!—after they had defeated the Lich King, but initially, she had not allowed herself to consider that they were kisses of anything but relief and gratitude. Their interactions since then had been enjoyable certainly, there had been teasing and some moments that had been at least relatively sexually charged, but neither of them had taken action.

As such, Sylvanas had been hesitant to try to begin anything and she had been too afraid of risking the relative peace that had just been brokered between the factions as they focused their efforts on battling the Scourge.

But now here they were at last, finally acting on their mutual feelings for each other, and Sylvanas could only remember one other time that she felt so happy, when she realized Jaina was still alive after the Lich King had fallen. It was an emotion that she rarely felt, certainly one that she almost never experienced since becoming undead.

She shuddered and shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. Jaina saw them and Sylvanas noticed tears in the mage’s eyes as Jaina kissed hers away. Her fingers were still between Jaina’s folds, drenched in arousal, rubbing the mage gently. She felt Jaina’s legs tighten around her waist, felt the mage’s breath against her cheek as she shook beneath her.

Jaina began to sweat, Sylvanas’ body starting to grind against hers, fingers teasing her sex, lips kissing her neck, teeth nipping at soft skin. She felt her hips rise off the bed, thrusting against the banshee’s hand.

Sylvanas sensed an urgency in Jaina and she slid a single finger inside the mage, gauging her reaction.

“Sylvanas...”

The banshee felt a grin form on her lips and she added another finger. Jaina gripped the bedsheets and Sylvanas found herself addicted to Jaina’s reactions, her own arousal building further, slicking her thighs. She added a third finger and began rubbing her thumb over Jaina’s clit.

Jaina shut her eyes tight and covered her mouth with both hands, trying to muffle such an intense scream of pleasure that the banshee was actually impressed. She chuckled and Jaina looked at her, breathless and confused. Sylvanas smiled and whispered, “That was a good scream, darling.”

Jaina covered her mouth again, laughing. “I guess a banshee would be an expert on the subject.”

“Indeed,” she said with a grin.

Sylvanas kissed her, moaning against her lips when she felt Jaina squeezing her breasts, then slipping a hand down between them, fingertips ghosting over her abdomen, and coming to rest on her lower lips.

Jaina gasped slightly, the banshee’s fingers inside her twisting and stroking, thrusting in a slow, sensual motion, while her chilled thumb brushed back and forth, then began to move in circles, drawing out intense moans, making Jaina shake.

Jaina pitched her hips upwards, pressing herself against Sylvanas, as she carefully slid her hand between the banshee’s wet folds. Sylvanas felt amazing to touch and Jaina pushed a finger inside, drawing forth a long moan that made the banshee shudder. Sylvanas was still stroking her, but she had picked up the pace, fingers moving in and out more quickly, filling the silence in the room with the sounds of deep, wet thrusts.

Jaina felt her heart begin to pound in her chest as Sylvanas touched her, her body now covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Her thumb found Sylvanas’ clit and the banshee cried out then, dropping her forehead to Jaina’s shoulder, trying to recover. Jaina moved another finger inside, feeling Sylvanas’ strong muscles squeeze around her, feeling the banshee thrust hard against her hand.

Sylvanas felt herself growing close and, judging by how Jaina was shuddering beneath her, letting out soft gasps and moans, she knew the mage was close as well.

Jaina ground her hips against Sylvanas’ hand, feeling like she was about to explode. She was so close, Sylvanas somehow knowing exactly how to touch her, how to elicit the most intense response. She found herself feeling emotional again, muscles tensing and squeezing, and a sob tore from her throat as she reached a crescendo and nearly fell apart.

The world seemed to stop for a moment, Jaina’s head tilting back in ecstasy.

Her walls greedily held onto Sylvanas’ fingers, pulsing around them as she let out another sob, Sylvanas’ name tumbling weakly from her lips, as she basked in the intensity of the pleasure coursing through her. Her entire body was visibly shaking and she could barely breathe. She finally went limp beneath Sylvanas and the banshee kissed her hard, still grinding against Jaina’s hand.

With a renewed vigor, Jaina began to thrust her fingers even deeper within, her thumb moving quickly as Sylvanas moaned with pleasure. She slipped a third finger inside and Sylvanas’ reaction—mouth falling open in a silent cry—made her think she might have broken the banshee, in the best way possible.

Jaina’s name was on Sylvanas’ lips and she moaned it into the mage’s mouth, dropping her head down, collapsing on soft breasts as her climax ripped through her, her entire body convulsing.

The two of them lay limp in each other’s arms, kissing softly as their strength slowly began to return. They both felt as though they could stay this way forever, never leaving the bed.

Sylvanas slowly slid off of Jaina, curling against her side, planting tender kisses on her shoulder. Jaina lifted the hand that had been inside Sylvanas to her mouth, moaning softly as she sucked on her fingers. Sylvanas brought her own hand to her lips, mimicking Jaina’s actions, thoroughly enjoying the mage’s taste.

Jaina flipped over onto her side so that she was facing Sylvanas and found the banshee looking at her intently and sweetly, a beautiful smile on her face. Jaina returned the smile and touched the banshee’s cheek with her fingertips, brushing the strong cheekbone. Jaina felt her eyes drift closed as Sylvanas began to stroke her hair with gentle fingers.

Neither of them spoke for a while. It seemed as though their lovemaking had done all the talking for them. The two were content to relax in the afterglow, both knowing that this bit of respite was temporary and they would soon be heading out, cutting down the Scourge that Horde and Alliance forces were going to be beginning to fight.

After some time, Sylvanas broke the silence, chuckling lightly. Jaina opened her eyes and looked at her. “Even if we both should have acted on our feelings sooner,” she began, “I’d say that this was worth the wait.”

Jaina hid her face in her pillow, feeling her cheeks flush, then looked back up, smiling. “I would have to agree,” she said, “on both counts.”

Sylvanas grinned and drew Jaina into a sweet kiss. When she pulled back, her expression was somber. Jaina frowned, almost certain she knew what Sylvanas was thinking.

“More fighting awaits us tomorrow,” Sylvanas said quietly.

Jaina nodded. “I know.” Confidently, she said, “We’ll triumph as we’ve done before.”

Sylvanas sighed and kissed Jaina’s shoulder again. Her conversation with Nathanos came flooding back. “At some point, we may not be able to continue fighting the Scourge. The majority of our forces are going to be dedicated to pushing them back, but if we lose too many, or if a new threat arises, we won’t be able to deal with it.”

Jaina swallowed and spoke, her voice shaky. “W-what are you saying?”

Sylvanas looked at her almost sadly. “‘There must always be a Lich King.’”

Jaina’s lower lip trembled, but anger began to flow through her. “It won’t be either of us,” she said sternly, “I won’t allow it.”

Sylvanas smiled and shook her head. “Of course not, darling. I have no desire to put on that helm and sit on the Frozen Throne in an ice block for all eternity.” It was true and she felt a bit guilty for being so selfish. She swallowed, then said, “But, I know someone who would, if it comes to that.”

Jaina narrowed her eyes and peered at Sylvanas curiously. “Who...?”

Sighing heavily, Sylvanas said, “Nathanos Blightcaller.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus.
> 
> For Jaina and Sylvanas, that was worth the wait. Hopefully you lovely, lovely readers feel the same. I was sitting on that for a few days, editing it here and there before figuring out the perfect spot for it in the story. It was originally going to be a few weeks into the future, but when I started writing the peace talk scene, I realized that they needed to be together much sooner, and I think it works better this way.
> 
> Your dear writer needs a nap. Part 5 has yet to be started, but I more or less know where I want to go with it (already seeing scenes play out in my head and I’ll start typing them up soon) and that should wrap things up how I like.
> 
> Thank you for continuing to read my tale. I appreciate you all very much. <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, I lied. There’s another part. This one is shorter than the others, but it had a natural ending and I didn’t want to add more to it, so I just started writing a short additional part instead.

“What?” Jaina asked, sitting up.

Sylvanas sat up as well. “After everyone else had left, Nathanos stayed behind. He examined the helm again and I approached him about it.”

Jaina’s lower lip trembled slightly. “What did he say?”

Sylvanas’ expression was one of incredible sadness and she shook her head, not answering. Jaina instantly felt guilty and she pulled the blankets to her chest, looking down. If Sylvanas had mentioned speaking with Nathanos earlier, Jaina would have gladly listened to her thoughts and her concerns instead of giving in to her own selfish desires.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked, her voice just above a whisper. She gestured between the two of them, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t have—“

“ _I_ would have,” Sylvanas said. Jaina looked up in surprise. “Nothing was going to keep me from you tonight, Jaina. I spent the week wanting you. I needed to be with you, regardless of what else was going on.” She grasped Jaina’s hands in hers. “I think you feel the same, even if you don’t want to admit it.” She smiled, squeezing Jaina’s hands affectionately.

Jaina nodded, feeling her cheeks burn. Sylvanas was probably right. Even if they had talked about Nathanos, if Sylvanas had said she was ready to set aside her thoughts and feelings for the time being to focus on the mage, to be with her, to spend time with her, to passionately make love to her... Jaina realized she probably would not have said no. She had needed to be with Sylvanas as much as Sylvanas needed to be with her.

“There was a certain catharsis in what happened tonight,” Sylvanas said, reaching up a hand to stroke Jaina’s cheek. “I was... troubled... when I arrived here, but being with you helped set my mind at ease for a while.” She sighed, swallowing the emotion in her throat. “I needed that,” she murmured.

Jaina suddenly felt overcome and she leaned forward, claiming the banshee’s lips in a deep kiss, the blankets falling and pooling in her lap. A strong breeze swept through her open window, making her shiver. She wanted Sylvanas again, but she also wanted to talk more about Nathanos, find out what exactly they had talked about, what his plan was.

Sylvanas wrapped her arms around Jaina, pulling the mage into her lap. She was grateful for this, she did not want to talk about Nathanos right now. There would be time for that later and at the moment, Sylvanas merely wanted her sadness to leave her. Being in bed with a beautiful, kind, considerate woman was certainly helping.

She ran a hand along the length of one of Jaina’s legs as they continued to kiss, fingertips brushing softly against warm skin, drawing a shuddering moan from Jaina.

Jaina pulled away, feeling herself beginning to get aroused, guilt washing over her again. She pressed her hands to Sylvanas’ shoulders and pushed the banshee back slightly. “I want to talk about Nathanos,” she said softly.

With a hardness to her voice that startled Jaina, Sylvanas said, “I do not.” Sylvanas kissed her roughly, claws digging into her back as she pulled the mage closer to her.

Jaina winced at Sylvanas’ tone and the nails raking down her skin. She felt quick tears come to her eyes and she whimpered, pulling back again, feeling fearful.

Sylvanas opened her mouth to speak, regarding the mage with concern.

What had she done?

She shook her head slightly, an apology spilling quickly and disjointedly from her lips. She kissed the mage’s forehead tenderly, then pressed her own forehead against Jaina’s.

Jaina drew in a shaky breath, whispering, “I can’t stop thinking about him. I just want to know what he said, what he’s planning.” She looked into Sylvanas’ eyes, silently pleading.

Sylvanas gave the mage a kiss to calm her. She peered deep into Jaina’s eyes, brushing her thumb over the mage’s cheek. She sighed and licked her lips, beginning to speak quietly. “Nathanos said he had been doing some thinking the past couple of days. I knew what he meant before he even said it and I immediately told him ‘no.’”

Jaina regarded her with interest, watched as the banshee’s shoulders began to tremble just a bit, listened to the emotion creeping into her voice. She had not thought to ask about Nathanos previously, if there had been something between them or if they were just close friends. She swallowed, thinking herself selfish. Regardless of whether or not Sylvanas and Nathanos had ever had a relationship, he was still someone with whom she interacted on a daily basis, someone she confided in, someone she cared about deeply.

Sylvanas spoke again, her tone resigned, but still hinting at her sorrow. “We talked about it, he brought up valid points and I couldn’t deny the truth of what he had to say. His mind is made up, I could not convince him otherwise.” Sylvanas felt herself becoming upset, though she tried to shake it off. Nathanos was easily her most trusted friend and ally and the thought of losing him hurt more than she could have imagined. Her lower lip began to quiver and she shook her head slightly, looking away, trying to calm down.

Jaina touched Sylvanas’ chin, turning the banshee’s face towards her. Sylvanas looked uncharacteristically anguished, almost broken. Jaina felt sympathetic tears in her eyes and she reached her other hand up, gently brushing back Sylvanas’ hair. She clasped the banshee’s face in her hands, bringing their lips together in a tender kiss.

When Sylvanas pulled back, tears began to well up in her eyes and fall silently down her cheeks. Jaina blinked back her own tears and kissed away the banshee’s, threading a hand through Sylvanas’ hair.

“I’m sorry,” Sylvanas said thickly. “I shouldn’t burden you with this.”

Jaina’s eyes went wide, her mouth falling open in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Sylvanas shook her head and tried to clarify, “I need to deal with this, the way I’m feeling. I shouldn’t have involved you.”

Jaina felt almost as though she had been struck and she swallowed the sob rising in her throat. “I d-don’t understand,” she stammered. “Do you not feel comfortable sharing important things like this with me?”

Sylvanas looked at her and said kindly, “I—I’ve spent most of my thousand years solving my problems alone. I suppose I’m not very accustomed to letting someone in. I didn’t tell Nathanos everything, either. I’ve always been a solitary person.”

“I understand,” Jaina murmured, “but I’m here, and I want to help. I want to talk things out with you, now and in the future.”

Sylvanas smiled warmly, touched at Jaina’s thoughtfulness. “That means more to me than I could possibly say,” she whispered.

Jaina smiled back and they shared another kiss. Sylvanas was lazily stroking Jaina’s leg and she turned to nibble on Jaina’s earlobe. Jaina closed her eyes, enjoying Sylvanas’ touch. Thoughts of Nathanos swirled around in her head and she shivered.

She pictured him alone near the throne, picking up the helm. He turned it over in his hands a few times, then walked up the stairs and sat down on the throne. With a last look around the platform, he put it on and a scream erupted from him as he became the Lich King.

She gasped, shaking her head to clear the image and Sylvanas stopped to look at her, brushing back the lock of gold that had fallen over her eye. “Are you all right?”

Jaina trembled and said shakily, “I just imagined Nathanos putting on the helm. I don’t know why I pictured it. I...” She trailed off, unsure what to say.

Sylvanas frowned and moved her hands away from Jaina. Jaina awkwardly climbed out of Sylvanas’ lap and looked down, eyes closed. She felt Sylvanas leave her bed and loneliness washed over her. She looked up, seeing Sylvanas standing by her desk, looking out the window. Her profile looked pensive. Soft candlelight and the moonlight pouring in through the window illuminated the blue skin of her nude form and Jaina had to catch her breath at the banshee’s beauty.

Jaina stood from the bed and quietly walked over to stand behind Sylvanas, tentatively wrapping comforting arms around the banshee, chin resting on a cool shoulder.

Sylvanas was tense, but she slowly relaxed when she felt Jaina’s arms encircle her. She rested her hands on top of Jaina’s and leaned back against her.

Jaina was uncertain how long they stood there, neither of them feeling the need to speak, but Sylvanas eventually turned around in her arms and kissed her, resting chilled hands on her hips. Jaina responded in kind, holding Sylvanas close, deepening the kiss.

Sylvanas began to picture Nathanos on the throne as well, hands gripping the helm, then carefully putting it on his head. The image faded quickly and Sylvanas shivered in Jaina’s embrace. Jaina must have felt it, because Sylvanas was then wrapped even tighter in the mage’s arms.

“I pictured it, too,” she said, pulling back. “I don’t want to imagine him like that. I want to think of him as he is now, always.”

Jaina nodded her understanding, lifting a hand and running it through Sylvanas’ hair.

“What a day,” Sylvanas said with a sigh.

Jaina nodded again and stepped back, taking one of Sylvanas’ hands in hers and leading her to the bed. They climbed in together, both tugging the blankets up over their shoulders and curling up near each other.

Sylvanas moved close to Jaina, reaching out a hand to caress her shoulder. She leaned in and kissed her, feeling the mage move closer as well, until their bodies were just barely touching.

They continued to kiss for a while until Jaina’s lips were swollen and tender and she felt herself beginning to succumb to sleep.

Sylvanas continued to touch Jaina lightly as the mage slept, running gentle fingers along soft curves. The more she touched Jaina, the more relaxed she felt, and after some time, she finally let herself fall into a deep slumber.

***

The next morning, Jaina awoke to the banshee still next to her in bed, sleeping soundly with a hand casually resting on her hip. She smiled, relief and happiness filling her.

“Morning,” Jaina whispered.

Sylvanas, eyes still closed, smiled and whispered back, “Morning, darling.”

Jaina stroked Sylvanas’ cheek and her smile deepened at Sylvanas’ soft, content sigh. “How are you feeling?”

Sylvanas finally opened her eyes, nearly melting at Jaina’s smile. “Better,” she said.

Jaina kissed her, murmuring, “Glad to hear it.”

Sylvanas shrugged. “There’s nothing I can do to convince him otherwise, unless we somehow manage to hold off the Scourge indefinitely on all fronts.” She chuckled ruefully, saying, “That’s not going to happen. He already said it, it’s not sustainable. We’ll be stretched too thin and we’ll be vulnerable to other threats.”

Jaina said nothing, just listened as Sylvanas continued to talk everything out. Once Sylvanas had finished, Jaina considered asking the question that was on her mind, what she had been wondering about the night before, the nature of Sylvanas’ relationship with Nathanos.

“Can I ask you something?” Jaina whispered.

“Anything, darling,” Sylvanas said, absently running her fingers along Jaina’s hip.

“I feel awful for even thinking about this, let alone asking, but—“

“There’s nothing between Nathanos and me,” Sylvanas interjected.

A furrow creased Jaina’s brow. “How did you know what I was going to ask?”

Sylvanas smiled and gave her a quick kiss. “It made sense. If you hadn’t asked, I would have told you anyway.”

Jaina let out a heavy, relieved sigh and caught Sylvanas smirking at her. She frowned and said, “Can you blame me for being curious?”

“No, not at all. And, since you’re curious, and I know what your next question is going to be, the answer is yes.” Sylvanas watched Jaina gulp and the banshee smiled kindly as she said, “When we were alive, we had a relationship of sorts. It eventually ran its course, but we stayed close and we’ll always be friends.”

Jaina nodded and let out the breath she was holding. Sylvanas kissed her sweetly.

“I want _you_ , Jaina,” Sylvanas husked against her lips.

Jaina’s voice was low and raspy as she said, “I want you, too.”

Sylvanas grinned. “Glad we’re on the same page, darling.”

Jaina grinned back. They kissed again, Jaina sitting up and climbing atop Sylvanas. She leaned down to kiss the banshee’s neck and nearly leapt out of her skin when she heard several loud knocks at her door.

“Jaina? Sweetheart? I was hoping I could talk to you for a few minutes.”

“Fuck,” Jaina muttered under her breath.

Sylvanas snorted. “Of course we’d be interrupted by your mother.” She grinned when Jaina frowned at her and she sat up, briefly catching Jaina’s lower lip between her teeth, stroking Jaina’s back with cool hands. “We probably shouldn’t keep her waiting.”

“‘We’?” Jaina went pale.

Sylvanas pouted at her. “Do you not want me to meet your mother?”

Jaina’s mouth fell open. “Under _these_ circumstances?”

Sylvanas grinned. “Why not?”

“Fuck that.”

Sylvanas covered her mouth with her hands, laughing. Jaina swatted at her.

“Keep it down!” she whispered.

“Jaina? Is someone in there with you?”

“Fuck me,” Jaina murmured.

“Believe me, I’m trying,” Sylvanas said.

Jaina frowned deeply. “You’re having way too much fun with this.”

“Considering everything we’ve been through this past week, I think we could both use a laugh, darling,” Sylvanas said seriously.

Jaina looked down. Sylvanas was right. The past week had seemed to get more intense and more stressful with each passing day. A bit of laughter seemed to be exactly what they needed, especially after the previous night’s revelation about Nathanos.

“Jaina?”

“Just give me a few minutes, Mother.”

Jaina kissed Sylvanas and reluctantly stood. She disappeared into the bathroom, quickly washing her hands and slipping on her bathrobe. Sylvanas followed her, washing her hands as well.

“There’s another robe in my wardrobe, if you want to grab it.”

Sylvanas nodded and kissed the back of Jaina’s neck. She walked back out and headed to the wardrobe, humming as she walked. Jaina went to stand by her bedroom door, waiting for Sylvanas to get decent. Sylvanas found the robe and put it on, combing her hair with her fingers.

“Ready?” Jaina mouthed.

Sylvanas nodded and Jaina opened the door.

“Morning, sweetheart,” said Katherine, “how are you—“ Her eyes fell upon Sylvanas, still standing near the wardrobe. She narrowed her eyes and looked at her daughter, clearing her throat. “Well, apparently I was right when I thought you weren’t alone...”

Jaina felt her face grow hot and she said, “Mother, meet—“

“Sylvanas Windrunner,” Katherine interrupted. She looked pointedly at Jaina. “Warchief of the Horde.”

Sylvanas looked between mother and daughter, very much amused.

Katherine licked her lips and said, “That actually answers several of the questions I had, sweetheart.” Her tone was lilting and Jaina looked down, her shoulders slumped. Katherine lifted her daughter’s chin and looked into her eyes. She said nothing, just smiled and kissed her forehead.

Jaina let out a sigh as her mother and Sylvanas exchanged friendly nods and smiles and her mother left the room, closing the door behind her.

Jaina was relieved, but she was still shaking a bit and her breathing was shallow. She felt strong arms around her and she leaned back against Sylvanas, turning to her and reaching up to caress her face. Sylvanas pressed a soft kiss to Jaina’s lips, holding her tight.

Things finally seemed to be going right. Even as terrible as it would be for Sylvanas to lose a close friend, they now had a plan in place for when fighting off the Scourge eventually became too difficult and costly to continue doing. It would be terrible to lose one of their own, but if it meant saving everyone on Azeroth, it would certainly be worth it.

And now, her mother seemed to approve of her blossoming relationship with Sylvanas which surprised her, until she thought of their prior conversation. She had thought she had remained neutral when speaking of Sylvanas, but now that she was thinking about it, she recalled that she felt light and happy whenever she mentioned the banshee. Her mother had most definitely picked up on it.

Gallywix had been right: she and Sylvanas were not discreet at all.

“That went surprisingly well,” Sylvanas said with a chuckle, pulling back slightly and nuzzling Jaina’s neck.

Jaina felt herself finally relax and she said gruffly, “With everything that’s happened this week, avoiding a potentially incredibly awkward conversation feels very good.”

“I’ll bet,” Sylvanas murmured, giving the back of Jaina’s neck a kiss. She raised a tall eyebrow and said thoughtfully, “Perhaps she’s just waiting to speak with you alone so she can grill you about me...”

“Oh Light’s sake,” Jaina mumbled, shaking her head, as Sylvanas chuckled. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, changing the subject. “I’m ready to get going.”

Sylvanas smiled against Jaina’s skin. “Me too.”

Jaina considered for a moment. “I think I’d actually like a bath first...”

“Me too,” Sylvanas said again, then whispered, “and your tub looks to be just big enough for two, darling...” She tugged a sensitive earlobe between her lips, lightly sucking on soft skin.

Jaina shivered and an involuntary moan escaped her. Sylvanas began moving a hand down, opening Jaina’s robe, fingers splayed on her stomach, dipping down and playing with the thatch of hair above her sex. Her hand went lower still, slipping between slick folds and trapping Jaina’s clit between two fingers, pinching it gently as she worked it in slow, relaxed circles.

Jaina moaned deeply, whispering, “Let’s finish this in the tub.”

Sylvanas murmured her assent, but kept her hand on Jaina as they languidly made their way to the bathroom.

***

Later, once they had finally, reluctantly, forced themselves to leave the tub, Jaina and Sylvanas dressed for battle and made their way to Northrend.

They arrived at the Citadel once again, with a lovely urn and a pair of trowels in tow. Another pile of bodies lay at their feet and the pair nodded at the Horde and Alliance troops nearby. Jaina swallowed as they made their way inside and journeyed to the Frozen Throne.

Once they had set foot on the platform, Jaina set down the urn and walked slowly over to Bolvar’s body. She knelt down and held out shaky hands, fire dancing on her palms.

Sylvanas’ boots crunched the snow and she knelt beside Jaina, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Jaina was grateful for the support. Burning Bolvar was a morbid task, but it needed to be done. She felt relieved that she was not alone.

***

Sometime later, Bolvar had been reduced to ash and had been carefully, considerately, gathered into the urn Jaina had brought with her. Tears filled her eyes and she began crying softly, holding the urn in her arms. Sylvanas wrapped an arm about her shoulders and pulled her close.

Jaina wiped her eyes and handed the urn to Sylvanas so she could cast a portal to Stormwind. Once it was cast, she gently took the urn back and took a steadying breath, preparing to step through.

“Shall I wait here?” Sylvanas asked.

Jaina nodded. “I won’t be long.”

Sylvanas kissed Jaina’s forehead and watched as she stepped through. The banshee looked around, finding the helm near the stairs. She walked over and picked it up, looking at it closely. She briefly wondered what it would be like to put it on, wondered how the burden of being the Lich King would feel...

She shook her head. She had no interest in being the Lich King, she had even told this to Jaina, though she did feel a pang of guilt about being so selfish. She had also joked about it being an appropriate end for her, to ultimately become who she hated.

No.

This was not how her life would end. She set down the helm with trembling hands, backing away from it and bumping into someone as she did so.

“Oof!” came the familiar voice.

“Nathanos?” Sylvanas spluttered, whirling around.

“Morning, my lady,” he said kindly. “What brings you here?”

“Jaina and I came to collect Bolvar’s ashes.”

Nathanos nodded. “Ah, yes, of course.”

Sylvanas walked towards him. “How about you? What brings you here again?”

Nathanos looked into her eyes. “I’ve been traveling throughout Northrend since the early hours of the morning, doing some scouting. It would appear, despite the fact that we’ve only just begun fighting, that our forces are already finding themselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of Scourge.”

Sylvanas’ face fell. “That’s... not encouraging. Is there hope? Or are the numbers too great?”

“It may be too early to tell,” Nathanos admitted. “Perhaps once our troops dig their heels in, we’ll see better results.”

Sylvanas looked away and then back. “And if we don’t?”

Nathanos’ lips formed the barest hint of a sad smile. “You already know the answer to that, my lady.”

Sylvanas looked down. “I hate this,” she nearly growled, clenching her fists at her sides.

Nathanos gently took Sylvanas’ hands in his and she unclenched her fists, throwing her arms around his neck and embracing him tightly, feeling emotion begin to overtake her again. He held her, stroking her hair, and closed his eyes.

***

Jaina was in the throne room of Stormwind Keep, but neither Anduin nor Taelia were around. She began making her way to Anduin’s quarters and knocked gently on the door when she arrived.

She heard Anduin gasp and was almost positive she heard a distinctly female-sounding gasp as well. She felt a smile on her lips. “It’s Jaina,” she called brightly. “I was hoping to speak with Taelia, if you know where I can find her...”

She heard whispers but could not make out what they were saying. She suppressed the urge to chuckle.

“Uh, just give us—I mean, me—a minute, Auntie!”

Jaina heard the distinct sound of a smack and a slight yelp from Anduin and she snorted. She leaned against the wall, listening as blankets were thrown back and bare feet slapped the floor as the pair no doubt rushed to dress.

A few moments later, the door creaked open and Anduin emerged, shutting it behind him. “Auntie?” He had hastily thrown on some pants, but had not bothered with a shirt. He was nearly breathless.

Jaina was still leaning against the wall and she held out the urn to him. He took it, holding it securely against his chest. She crossed her arms and smiled knowingly at him. His cheeks reddened under her gaze.

“Uh, how was your night?” he asked, avoiding her gaze.

Jaina licked her lips. “As good as yours,” she said, her eyes twinkling.

Anduin relaxed a bit and smiled at the urn and then at Jaina. “Thank you for this, Auntie, I’ll make sure she gets it.”

Jaina nodded. “I’m needed back in Northrend. I’ll see you later.” She patted his cheek affectionately and began casting a portal back to Icecrown.

“I’ll be on the frontlines as soon as I can,” Anduin said.

Jaina shook her head. “Enjoy your morning, don’t worry about the Scourge. They’ll always be there. No need to rush.”

Anduin looked down. “I suppose you’re right,” he said. “Thank you, again, for...” He trailed off, a sheepish smile gracing his features.

Jaina gave him a kiss on the cheek and stepped through her portal.

A few more Scourge had sprouted up in front of the Citadel and Jaina blasted them before the troops nearby could react. She nodded at them and headed inside.

She took both teleporters and emerged on the platform of the Frozen Throne. As she dusted fresh fallen snow off her cloak, she said, chuckling, “Oh Sylvanas, I do believe Anduin and Taelia enjoyed their night together almost as much as we enjoyed—“ She looked up, seeing Sylvanas and Nathanos holding one another. “—Ours,” she finished, gulping hard. Her voice rough, she mumbled, “I’ll go. Sorry for disturbing the two of you.” She began casting a portal home, her good mood gone entirely.

Sylvanas stepped back from Nathanos and faded to Jaina in an instant, pressing a hand over both of the mage’s. “Stop,” she whispered, but there was a hardness to her tone.

Jaina dropped her hands. There were tears in her eyes and she took a shuddering breath, trying to calm down. “I’m so stupid,” she whispered.

Sylvanas clasped Jaina’s face in her hands. “What are you talking about?”

Jaina shook her head. “There’s so much history between you two, you’ve been through a great deal together... what am I?” Sylvanas just stared at her and Jaina felt her tears slip down her face. “I’m no one,” she whispered, her voice breaking. She began casting a portal again and did not stop when Sylvanas asked.

Jaina looked between Sylvanas and Nathanos. They both had shocked and hurt expressions on their faces, but neither of them were saying anything.

She addressed Sylvanas, her voice almost gone, “Last night meant the world to me. But, maybe, last night was all we were meant to have.”

Sylvanas pulled her away from the portal before she could step through, wrapping powerful arms around her. “Listen to me,” she said, her red eyes blazing. “I told you about my past with Nathanos and I told you there was nothing between us. I meant it. I _still_ mean it. I want _you_ , Jaina.” She brushed Jaina’s hair back. It was not braided and the wind was blowing it wildly around. Jaina did not seem to notice or care.

Jaina was looking down at their boots, covered in snow. It was coming down quickly, coating their outfits in a beautiful shade of white. She sighed and reached up to dust off Sylvanas’ shoulders. She felt sick to her stomach. She had acted so petulantly and she hated herself for it. She was close to forty, she knew she should be more mature than this. Unfortunately, she had had trust issues for years, and it was taking her a long time to get over them. She looked up, eyes still wet with tears, and gave Sylvanas a small smile.

Sylvanas felt tears in her own eyes and she pulled Jaina close, giving her the softest, sweetest kiss the mage had ever known. She drew back, resting her forehead against Jaina’s. “I love you, you know.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I—“ Jaina shook her head, feeling overwhelmed. “A-are you sure?”

Sylvanas laughed. “Of course I’m sure, darling, what kind of question is that?”

Jaina felt a smile on her lips. “I love you, too,” she whispered. “I think I loved you the moment I saw the tears in your eyes and the relief on your face when you realized Bolvar hadn’t killed me.”

Sylvanas returned the smile. “I think I loved you the moment I realized you were still alive.”

Jaina draped her arms around Sylvanas’ neck as the banshee held her and tenderly pressed their lips together.

Sylvanas sweetly nuzzled her nose against Jaina’s and said, “You mentioned history between Nathanos and me, but you didn’t mention the history between _you_ and me.”

Jaina looked confused and she raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Sylvanas grinned. “We killed the Lich King. Together. And we lived to tell the tale and unite our factions. I think that’s fairly important, don’t you? It’ll surely end up in history books one day.” Her eyes were sparkling.

Jaina chuckled and ducked her head, color rising in her cheeks. She enjoyed Sylvanas speaking literally of history. “Yeah,” she began, smiling, “I guess that’s of some importance.”

Sylvanas kissed her again, holding her tight, not wanting to ever let her go. They stayed in their embrace for some time, blissfully ignorant to anything and everything else. When they stepped back, they saw that Nathanos had, at some point, departed.

They looked at each other, both figuring that he had likely hearthed out sometime earlier. Jaina wondered how much he had witnessed between her and Sylvanas, then shook her head. It did not matter. Nathanos was Sylvanas’ close friend and that was that.

“I want to kill things,” Jaina said then.

Sylvanas smirked and waggled a tall eyebrow at her. “You sure?”

Jaina nodded.

Sylvanas grinned. “Last chance to turn back, forget I ever came to you.”

Jaina smiled broadly. “I said we’re doing this and we will.”

Sylvanas took the mage’s hand and bumped Jaina’s shoulder with hers. “Let’s win, Jaina.”


	6. Epilogue

Weeks passed, then months, and the war against the Scourge continued in earnest. The troops kept improving their techniques and were taking out the monsters more efficiently. Even so, the numbers were great and the Horde and Alliance were suffering a fair amount of losses.

Sylvanas and Anduin were growing nervous. The other faction leaders were beginning to pressure them to find an alternative, find something that would turn the tide in their favor.

Nathanos had met with Anduin and Sylvanas early on to tell the Alliance’s king that he was prepared to end the war by becoming the new Lich King. Anduin had vehemently rejected the idea, as Sylvanas initially had, but in talking to them both, he came to realize that if the war began to go south, this would be the only way to ensure they would win.

They had now reached that point. Tensions were running high, everyone was beginning to feel emotional and worried for themselves, their allies, and—most importantly—the citizens of Azeroth they were desperately trying to protect.

Sylvanas and Anduin called for a summit and the Frozen Throne was once again packed with faction leaders.

There was much shouting and there were plenty of outbursts. No one was upset with each other, they were merely upset that they could not keep Azeroth safe in their current situation.

Sylvanas and Anduin tried to be heard above the fracas, but emotions were running so high that everyone just wanted to express the frustration and helplessness they felt.

“Enough,” Nathanos said, his voice cold. Only Sylvanas, Anduin, and Jaina heard him and immediately stopped speaking.

The noise continued, seemingly louder than before.

“Enough!”

He was louder now, but it did not seem to make a difference. He gave it one more try.

“I SAID ‘ENOUGH’!”

Everyone in the room stopped to look at him, all eyes were focused, all ears were listening intently for what he would say next.

Clearing his throat, Nathanos began speaking calmly. “Now that I have your attention, I can share with you what I have already shared with the Dark Lady and the King.

“I said months ago when we gathered that fighting on multiple fronts, spreading out our forces to focus on only this threat, was not sustainable, but for the time being, it was all we had.

“In the early days of our newly forged peace agreement, I devised a contingency plan for if and when our troops would no longer be able to fully defend Azeroth.

“I stand before you today prepared to tell you how I plan to stop the Scourge because we have now reached the point where we need to put my plan into action.”

He locked eyes with Sylvanas, who was shaking faintly and clinging to Jaina for support. He picked up the Helm of Domination and held it in the air for all to see.

“This helm...” He swallowed, his voice thick with emotion. “This helm is now mine.”

There were gasps and whispered words of shock in the crowd and Nathanos let everyone react and sort through their feelings before he continued.

“I imagine not many saw this coming, at least not with me being the one to do the honors, as it were.” He chuckled ruefully. “In any case, here we are. I’ve made my peace with it, I’m ready to ensure that this world will be protected now and in future generations.

“So, with all of that said, I’d like to tell you all how proud I am to have been able to fight alongside you and defeat mountains upon mountains of these frightfully ugly abominations, amongst other creatures.” He smiled at the chuckles and cheers he drew from his comrades.

Queen Talanji stepped forward and took Nathanos’ hands in hers. “You are an incredible man for doing this,” she said. “Your honor and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

Everyone murmured their agreement and, one by one, they stepped forward to personally thank him. Jaina hung back, casting portals for everyone to return home. Gallywix stood next to her, watching as her eyes fell upon Sylvanas first, then Nathanos, and back again.

He nudged her with his elbow and she turned to look at him, her expression melancholy.

“She adores you, kid,” he said gently.

“I know,” Jaina said, turning back to look between Sylvanas and Nathanos again. “I’m not worried about that.”

Gallywix raised an eyebrow and Jaina saw it out of the corner of her eye.

“I’m worried about how this will affect her. He’s always been her closest friend, as well as her most trusted advisor. How is she going to deal with losing him?” Her voice broke on the last two words and tears filled her eyes. Gallywix tentatively reached for her hand and Jaina grasped it tightly.

“She has you to lean on, just like she has for the last several months. You two are good together. You’ll get through this, kid.” A grin twisted his lips upward. “Don’t worry so much, the rest of your hair is gonna go white.”

Jaina pinched his fingers, smirking, and he winced.

“Still with the violence, even after all this time!” He shook his head, giving her an exaggerated sigh.

She turned to him, smiling, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “Thanks.”

“Eh, don’t mention it.” He smiled back at her.

The crowd had begun to disperse through Jaina’s portals and soon, she, Gallywix, Nathanos, and Sylvanas were the only ones left.

“Well, crap,” said Gallywix, “guess I better give the big guy my thanks before he’s gone for good.” He looked up at Jaina. “You gonna be okay, kid?”

Jaina nodded. “Yeah, I think I’ll be just fine.”

Gallywix patted the small of her back and cracked his neck, then his knuckles. “All right, here we go.”

Jaina watched as Gallywix waddled over to Nathanos and began conversing with him jovially. She smiled and looked to Sylvanas. The banshee was standing near Nathanos with her arms crossed over her chest. There was just the hint of a smirk on her lips as she watched Nathanos and Gallywix chat.

Sylvanas looked over at Jaina, meeting her gaze. They smiled at each other, but Sylvanas’ smile was strained. Jaina motioned for her to come over and Sylvanas did so, standing at her side, facing the two men by the steps to the throne.

Jaina took Sylvanas’ hand in hers. “I love you, you know.”

Sylvanas chuckled. “I do know, darling. I love you, too.”

Jaina turned to look at Sylvanas, her expression serious. “We’re going to get through this.” She squeezed Sylvanas’ hand for emphasis. “I’ll help however I can.”

Sylvanas nodded and leaned against the mage. “You’re so good to me, Jaina,” she murmured.

“I try to be,” Jaina said. “I’m not perfect, but—“

“You are to me,” Sylvanas said, giving Jaina a quick kiss.

Jaina felt tears in her eyes and she swallowed. She noticed tears in Sylvanas’ eyes as well and the two shared another kiss. Sylvanas rested her cheek against Jaina’s shoulder and closed her eyes briefly.

Jaina watched as Nathanos and Gallywix shook hands and bowed at one another and Gallywix turned and made his way back over to Jaina and Sylvanas.

“He’s all yours, ladies. Gonna be sad to see him go. He’s one of the good ones.” He sighed heavily and grasped the pair’s entwined hands, planting kisses on both. “Until next time, kids.” He hopped through the Dalaran portal.

Jaina and Sylvanas exchanged a look and walked over to Nathanos, hand in hand. They all exchanged nods and Nathanos said, “After we speak, I’d recommend heading on home before I put this on.” He gestured to the helm sitting by the stairs. He tried to keep his tone light as he said, “I’m not certain exactly what will happen, but somehow I doubt you would want to witness it.”

Sylvanas and Jaina nodded their agreement, then Jaina spoke up. “I don’t really know what to say or how to thank you for doing this. I wish we could have found a better solution.” She felt her shoulders begin to tremble and her voice shook as she said, “I’m so sorry.”

Nathanos smiled at her and she launched herself towards him, giving him a warm hug. He patted her back and stroked her hair. “It’s going to be all right, Lady Proudmoore.”

“‘Jaina,’” she said quietly. “Please call me ‘Jaina.’”

“Of course, Jaina,” he said when they separated. “I just want to see our world live on and this is the best way to ensure Azeroth’s safety.”

Jaina nodded. “I understand.” She leaned forward and sweetly kissed his cheek. She looked between Sylvanas and Nathanos. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

Sylvanas felt her eyes fill with tears as she watched Jaina walk away and stand with her back to her and Nathanos, looking out over Icecrown. She turned back to Nathanos and he gathered her in his arms, holding her as she wept.

She stepped back after a long while and reached up to cradle his face in her hands. They shared a chaste kiss, then Sylvanas turned to go.

Nathanos caught her wrist and she turned back, tears obscuring her vision. He brought her hand to his lips and after he kissed it, he said gruffly, “It was an honor knowing you, my lady.”

Sylvanas swallowed the sob in her throat. “The honor was all mine.”

Nathanos released her hand and Sylvanas looked at him one last time before walking over to Jaina. She grasped Jaina’s hand in hers and together, they stepped through the conjured portal to Proudmoore Keep.

***

Jaina and Sylvanas stood in front of Icecrown Citadel, months after Nathanos’ transformation. It was time for Sylvanas’ yearly visit to the Frozen Throne and it would mark the first time she would see Nathanos in his new role and form as the Lich King.

Adjusting to life without Nathanos had been hard for her, but Jaina had been there every step of the way. She felt that she was in a relatively good place now. She felt fine, if not happy, most days and she continued to be Warchief to the best of her ability.

Nathanos taking up the mantle of Lich King had also strengthened the peace between the factions. The Alliance was forever grateful to a member of the Horde for putting aside faction differences and focusing on what truly mattered: the safety of Azeroth and her people.

Sylvanas looked around. There were no Scourge coming to greet them. She smiled a bit, taking Jaina’s hand in hers. Jaina smiled back.

“Ready?” the mage asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” replied the banshee.

Together, they walked into the Citadel and took both portals to the Frozen Throne. Sylvanas gasped and gripped Jaina’s hand painfully tight as she looked upon Nathanos, the helm on his head, his form encased in ice.

Sylvanas released Jaina’s hand and walked quickly over to the stairs, her boots crunching the snow with every step, the howling winds whipping her cloak about her shoulders. She walked up the stairs slowly, mindful not to slip, and stood facing Nathanos on the throne.

Jaina followed, drawing her hood up, shivering almost violently at the intense cold. She wrapped an arm around Sylvanas’ waist at the top of the stairs, watching as the banshee ran a shaky hand over the ice. Jaina stayed silent, opting to rub comforting circles into Sylvanas’ back instead.

Sylvanas kissed the ice block, whispered that she missed Nathanos, then took Jaina’s hand in hers and led her back down the stairs, towards the edge of the platform. They stood silently, leaning against each other, looking out over Icecrown as the winds whistled around them.

Sylvanas looked at Jaina, a smile beginning to spread across her face. Jaina smiled back. “I feel peaceful,” Sylvanas said.

Jaina said softly, “That makes me happy.”

“I’m glad I came to you when the Lich King was controlling me,” Sylvanas said. “It was an enormous risk and an incredible gamble, but it paid off.”

“I’m glad you were able to convince me to listen to you about Bolvar,” Jaina said. Emotion clawed at her throat as she continued, “And to stop being stubborn because I was heading down the path to ruin that destroyed my father.”

Sylvanas wrapped her arms around Jaina and kissed her deeply, holding her close, then turned and looked up at the new Lich King. With a kind nod, Sylvanas turned and walked with Jaina back to where they came in and Jaina cast a portal to Proudmoore Keep.

“Seeing him helped,” said Sylvanas. “I knew we were in good hands before, but I still worried. Seeing him after a few months confirmed that we’re going to be fine. I can rest easy and start a new chapter.”

Jaina beamed at her. “I can’t wait to start this new chapter with you.”

They shared a sweet look and embraced one another tightly.

The two of them looked at the portal. Once they went through, their lives would change. They shared another look, excitement flowing through them.

After a few moments, Jaina smiled gently and took Sylvanas’ hand in hers and together, they stepped through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go. This story ended up straying pretty far from where I originally intended, in terms of romance. When I was initially planning on keeping it a one-shot, I was happy with Jaina and Sylvanas just becoming allies or maybe tentative friends. But as I wrote more, it ended up feeling like a natural evolution to have them fall in love, especially after all they had gone through together.
> 
> Hopefully my story was enjoyable. I definitely had a fantastic time writing it.
> 
> When I had a bit of writer’s block on part 5 earlier this week, I started writing a second part to _Divertissement_ , but it’s in the extremely early stages and I have a very long way to go. If you’ve read that story, you can expect more of the same whenever I get around to posting it.
> 
> Anyway! Thank you to everyone who checked out this story. I’m looking forward to a bit of a break and then I’ll be back writing more delicious Sylvaina again. <333


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